John Konrad

Hegseth's Success Stems From Smart, Aligned Staff

STAFF STAFF STAFF STAFF What makes Hegseth so effective is that he has a staff that is smart and fully aligned. He cleared the office on Day 1. He was not afraid to cut people with questionable agendas. Caldwell’s firing turned out to be based on false rumors (Caldwell is a fantastic guy), but Hegseth took no chances. He also wasn’t afraid to pull incredible staff from the Dems. Buria served under Lloyd Austin but was a too performer and was willing to realign with the mission. OSD, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, was transformed from one of the absolute worst cabals in DC into one that actually executes the president’s agenda. Nearly everyone who has been kicked out or sidelined from this administration fell for the same reason: unwillingness to make the hardest staff decisions. Mike Waltz did a fantastic job (IMHO), but there were leaks and staff too comfortable in the swamp. Some of them were fully aligned but the perception undermined effectiveness. Many of the least effective Trump appointments happened because someone hit the easy button and vacuumed in congressional staffers. A few of Phelan’s staff are fantastic. Some flat out undermined his efforts. Many just gave him bad advice. Every single position - uniform and civilian - needs to be ruthlessly evaluated. @HungCao_VA was given no notice. He is being handed a massive job in the middle of a naval war and is expected to hit the deck running. It is going to be very tempting for him to slide into the Secretary of the Navy office, get up to speed, and deal with the staffing mess later. I truly hope he resists that temptation. Hung had several opportunities to throw people under the bus to land this appointment, or to manhandle admirals to push his own agenda independent of his former boss. Plenty of people on the inside were encouraging him to do exactly that. He refused. Before that, he had the opportunity to win a Senate seat through underhanded tactics. He refused. This is a stand up guy. This is an EOD officer, trained to fly in and lead whatever team is on hand. He is trained to perform in the worse conditions with whatever people are on hand. So here is my concern. If he does not deal with the staffing issues immediately, he will build loyalty with a suboptimal team. He will keep making do because he does not want to throw people he has worked with daily for weeks or months under the bus. He will just keep making do, because he is a stand up guy and making do is what EOD trains you to do. That approach might work for nearly any other position in DC. It will not work for Secretary of the Navy. It will not work because shipbuilding and reforming Navy culture is a monumental task. Many very smart people I know and trust say it’s an impossible task. I have zero doubts about his leadership ability. Zero. But it didn’t matter how good Joe Torre was as a leader. He wouldn’t have won a single championship without the Core Four and a solid lineup of sluggers behind them. Hung needs his Core Four. He needs sluggers. Fast.