Diversity Thursday

Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense Nominee, first person spoken word

President Trump has nominated someone who was not even in my scan for SECDEF, Pete Hegseth.

Having pondered a bit, it popped in my head this AM that I’ve often said that if we keep selecting the same people with the same pedigree we will get the same results, then, well, perhaps he should have been.

Should he survive confirmation, what benchmark will be bring to the office for his subordinates to work off of?

Last week, he was on the Shawn Ryan Show to discuss his latest book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us.

For regulars most Thursdays at CDR Salamander, we should take a moment to bask in … well … a huge “W.”

Incentives and disincentives. Top cover. Senior leadership’s priorities. We’ve hit those buttons over and over and over as to why the cancer of division became so ingrained in our military. He would turn that pattern on its head.

At the 22:47 mark through the 51:00 mark he picks up almost all the threads of 20 years of DivThu. If you are short of time, go to the 40:37 mark where he directly addresses, “You put a SECDEF in there who is focused on all the right things…”

Grab a fresh cup of coffee and listen to the perspective that could soon define the office of the Secretary of Defense.

Again, yes, he still has to get through confirmation hearings. However, if he rightfully has a say in who his service secretaries will be, and he applies HIS filters to ensure alignment with HIS priorities, then, well, giddy-up.

For the last few years on a DivThu now and then, after almost two decades of constant advance by the agents of division, didn’t I tell you there were some positive things out there?

Here you go. Let’s enjoy the moment.