Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “comprehensive transformation” of the U.S. Army in a new memo.
In a news release accompanying the memo, the Defense Department said the document seeks to “implement a comprehensive transformation strategy, streamline its force structure, eliminate wasteful spending, reform the acquisition process, and modernize inefficient defense contracts” in order to “restore the warrior ethos and reestablish deterrence.”
Hegseth called for Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll to transform the Army at an “accelerated pace” by “divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems.”
“Simultaneously, the Army must prioritize investments in accordance with the Administration’s strategy, ensuring existing resources are prioritized to improve long-range precision fires, air and missile defense including through the Golden Dome for America, cyber, electronic warfare, and counter-space capabilities,” the memo reads.
To optimize its workforce, the Army will close and merge several of its headquarters and address hiring and firing policies in order to “enable the Department’s ability to expertly manage talent.”
“As the Army prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, our Nation requires her Army to move further, faster, and fight harder than any other force on Earth,” Hegseth wrote. “President Trump and I will not let this Nation down.”
Hegeth’s reference to the Golden Dome comes as the U.S. Space Command submitted options for the missile defense system. The effort aims to deploy space-based weapons to intercept ground-launched missiles shortly after launch.
General Stephen Whiting, the head of U.S. Space Command, described the necessity of orbital interceptors, stating, “It’s time that we can clearly say that we need space fires, and we need weapons systems. We need orbital interceptors…We call these weapons, and we need them to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight.”
