New sheriff in town — Hegseth wastes no time bringing change to the Pentagon

A flurry of military-focused executive orders from the White House on Monday meant Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first day on the job would be anything but leisurely.

The newly confirmed Pentagon chief arrived at work on the same day President Trump was preparing to sign off on a string of military executive orders — reinstating troops kicked out of the military for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, slashing diversity programs from the armed forces, and ordering the services to assess whether transgender personnel should remain in uniform.

But when Mr. Hegseth strode into the Pentagon, it was clear that a priority mission of the organization he now leads would be to support the Trump administration’s policy to seal the southern U.S. border and use military aircraft to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

“This is happening quickly, and as secretary of defense, it’s an honor to salute smartly — as I did as a junior officer and now the secretary of defense — to ensure these orders are complied with promptly,” Mr. Hegseth said shortly after he was greeted at the Pentagon by Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “Lawful orders of the president of the United States will be executed swiftly and without excuse.”

After Mr. Trump formally declared that illegal immigration was a national emergency, the Defense Department last week rushed 1,500 Army soldiers and Marines to the border where they joined some 2,500 military personnel.

“This Pentagon ‘snapped to’ last week. We helped move forward troops, put in more barriers, and also ensured mass deportations in support of the president’s objectives,” Mr. Hegseth told reporters. “The protection of the sovereign territory of the United States is the job of the Defense Department, and the cartels are foreign terrorist organizations.”

Before taking office, both Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Trump had called for the removal of Gen. Brown from his job before the election, saying he was too “woke” to be part of the incoming administration. However, the president warmed to the general while they sat next to each other at this year’s Army-Navy football game.

On Monday, his new defense secretary also seemed to set a more conciliatory tone toward Gen. Brown. “I’m standing with him right now. I’m looking forward to working with him,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Many at the Pentagon seem to be taking a “wait-and-see” attitude about their new boss, a military officer said Monday, adding that they hope he’s successful simply because of how it will impact on their own daily lives.

The new Pentagon chief, a onetime Fox News host who was barely confirmed after a notably bitter nomination debate, acknowledged that his plan of attack isn’t quite how business was done in the past.

“The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States at the southern border to include reservists, National Guard, and active duty [personnel] in compliance with the Constitution, with the laws of our land, and the directives of the commander in chief,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate to confirm Mr. Hegseth as defense secretary. He called Mr. Hegseth a “disrupter” and said it was a characteristic needed within the defense establishment.

“If you think about all of those bipartisan massive votes, we have to ask ourselves: ’What did they get us?’ They got us a country where we fought many wars over the last 40 years but haven’t won a war about as long as I have been alive,” the vice president said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”

Even as Mr. Hegseth and his team grappled with domestic concerns like security at the southern border, the Defense Department continued to monitor pressing international issues such as Ukraine’s war with Russia and Israel’s ceasefire agreements with Iran-backed militants from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Standing on the steps of the Pentagon’s River Entrance, Mr. Hegseth said the Defense Department would pursue an “Iron Dome”-style missile defense system similar to the one used by the Israel Defense Forces.

“We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us and try us,” he said.

Mr. Hegseth showed reporters a metal band on his wrist honoring Jorge M. Oliveira, a soldier he served with at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba who was later killed in Afghanistan.

“It’s for these guys we do this for, those who have given the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “Every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, Germany, Fort Benning, and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers,” he said. “Our job is lethality and readiness and war fighting.”

Notably, Mr. Hegseth referenced the prior names for the two Army posts originally named for Confederate generals that were changed during the Biden administration to Fort Moore and Fort Liberty. Mr. Trump criticized the change.