The US is carrying out the most sweeping recalibration of its national security strategy since the end of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. He spoke on November 9 at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
Hegseth described the change as „deeper and more significant than the collapse of the Soviet Union“. According to him, under President Donald Trump and the implementation of the new National Defense Strategy, fundamental assumptions that have guided US government policy for eight decades are being changed.
The specific initiative presented in Newport is aimed at the senior military educational institutions. Hegseth announced 33 directives for their „comprehensive reform“. The measures affect the Army War College, the National Defense University, the Naval War College, the Marine Corps University and the Air War College.
Military simulations instead of lengthy theses
One of the most significant changes is the elimination of lengthy written theses as the primary final requirement for students. They will be replaced by competitive military simulations using artificial intelligence and scenarios for decision-making under intense pressure.
„We will evaluate educational institutions by one and only one criterion: whether they are preparing leaders who will win America’s wars,“ Hegseth said, according to „Stars and Stripes“.It is also planned that positions for commanders with the rank of colonel or general and recent operational experience will be created at the senior military colleges. The campuses must also expand their capacity to handle classified information.
Newly appointed civilian faculty members will be offered three-year contracts tied to the results of their teaching and research in the field of national security. Lifetime appointments and the status of „professor emeritus“ will not apply to new appointments, „Stars and Stripes“ reported.
Focus on controversial decisions
Hegseth said an internal review had found an avoidance of in-depth study of the US’s recent strategic failures. As examples, he cited the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and the actions of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
„The fact that some of you know Mark Milley does not mean that we should not study his failures,“ the secretary said, according to „Stars and Stripes“.
The statement was made at a time of intense political pressure on Hegseth. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie took steps toward a vote on an impeachment resolution, primarily related to the war with Iran, as well as US military actions in Yemen and Venezuela. According to the Associated Press, the vote in the House of Representatives could take place as early as the middle of the week.
Hegseth rejected the pressure and announced that he would hold a press conference on November 10 devoted to the effort to remove him. The Associated Press noted that this would be his first press conference in more than 180 days.
Sources: stripes.com, apnews.com, jbiznews.com