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Work Statement: This article is published only on Toutiao, and any reprints are prohibited.
In early October 2025, the power core in Washington once again stirred up waves. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suddenly dismissed Jon Harrison, the Chief of Naval Operations — a key figure who had long assisted him in pushing for the restructuring of the Pentagon. After the news was released, the Department of Defense quickly issued a statement, with a restrained and cold tone: "He will no longer serve as the Chief of Naval Operations. We appreciate his service." No further explanation was given.
Jon Harrison, the Chief of Naval Operations, was dismissed
However, all those in the know understood that this was not an ordinary personnel change. Harrison's departure was another manifestation of a systematic "cleansing."
From the Department of Defense to the Department of War
Since Pete Hegseth took over, the Pentagon has been reshaped at an astonishing speed. In the past year, this former Army officer and former Fox News host officially changed the name of the Department of Defense to "Department of War" — this was not just a name change, but also a shift in ideology.
In Hegseth's vision, the American military should no longer be a "defensive institution bound by civilian control," but should return to being a "pure war machine." This mindset is fully reflected in his series of personnel adjustments.
Within a few months, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Chief of Naval Operations; Major General Nancy R. Killefer, the Commander of the Navy Reserve; and Major General Milton Sands, the Commander of Special Operations, were all removed from their positions. More symbolic was the scene in February — General Charles Q. Brown, the first African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed.
Charles Q. Brown was dismissed
One after another, high-ranking officers left their posts, replaced by a new generation who were more politically loyal and ideologically radical. Harrison's dismissal was merely the latest chapter in this chain reaction.
Jon Harrison: From Reform Promoter to Sacrifice
Jon Harrison was originally a trusted reform assistant of Hegseth. He served as the Chief of Staff to Navy Secretary John Phelan, assisting in promoting a highly controversial institutional integration plan — merging the Navy's policy and budget offices, reducing hierarchy, and centralizing decision-making.
John Phelan with his wife and daughter
Phelan, a major Trump donor, had no military background, but was appointed as the Navy Secretary and quickly became Hegseth's "executor." Together, they redefined the Navy's administrative system and weakened the power of the Deputy Secretary.
The position of Deputy Secretary is now to be filled by Hung Cao — a Vietnamese-American retired officer, Republican, and loser in the 2024 Virginia Senate election. He publicly stated he wanted to "restore the honor and faith of the military." He was nominated by Trump in February and confirmed by the Senate in early October.
Harrison and Phelan even planned to interview all of Cao's future staff to ensure they "shared the same ideological views." But just before Cao was about to take office, Harrison was suddenly dismissed — without notice or farewell. His name was quietly erased from the Pentagon's organizational structure.
Hegseth's "Rebuilding the Military Plan"
Hegseth's approach to commanding the military is crude and direct. In February, he fired the three Judge Advocates General (JAG) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, citing "incompetence." These three individuals were responsible for providing legal and ethical advice to commanders, and were core figures in the military's rule of law system.
Hegseth said in an interview: "They were not suitable for providing the correct legal advice."
Several months later, The Washington Post revealed that he had ordered approximately 600 military judges to be reassigned to immigration courts as temporary immigration judges — to help the Trump administration deal with the backlog of cases caused by large-scale deportations. This move caused strong unease within the military, but Hegseth did not back down.
He repeatedly emphasized that the military must "serve the will of the nation, not legal debates."
The End of "Obese Officers" and "Awakening Culture"
In early October, Hegseth delivered a speech to global officers at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. This speech was described by multiple media outlets as a "cultural declaration of the Pentagon."
He told hundreds of generals: "I've had enough of seeing fat soldiers in combat formations; seeing fat soldiers in the battlefield makes me tired, and seeing fat generals and colonels in the Pentagon makes me disgusted. It's a disgrace, not the image of the military."
He announced the full restart of the physical fitness evaluation system, making "appearance standards" part of the promotion criteria: "No more identity month, no diversity and equality offices, no men wearing skirts, no climate worship, no gender delusions. All of this has ended."
Hegseth claimed that these "social engineering" efforts made the military "weak, divided, and lost direction," and must be eliminated. His speech received applause from the audience and sparked public controversy.
Conservatives praised him for "returning the military to its fighting essence," while liberals criticized him for "turning the military into a battleground for ideologies." The New York Times commented: "Hegseth is not managing the military, but reshaping a belief system — one with a militant religious fervor."
The Chill in the Pentagon
Pete Hegseth's political trajectory is highly dramatic. As a former Army officer, he served in Iraq; after retiring, he joined Fox News, becoming a commentator known for his "patriotic tough" style.
He values a "primitive American spirit" — anti-bureaucracy, anti-political correctness, anti-internationalism. To him, the mission of the American military is not to maintain order, but to conquer and punish; not to maintain alliances, but to rebuild deterrence.
After Trump returned to the White House, Hegseth quickly became one of the most influential members of the cabinet. He told the media: "The Department of Defense doesn't need more analysts, consultants, and lawyers. We need warriors."
His remarks evoke the McCarthyism of the Cold War era, but also align with the current emotional foundation of American conservatives — a sense of revenge fueled by "political correctness."
A sense of unprecedented uncertainty now permeates the Pentagon. Many career officers have chosen silence or retirement. Someone wrote anonymously: "We no longer know whether we are serving the Constitution or a person."
Hegseth's iron-fisted reforms have pushed the Department of Defense in a dangerous direction — it is gradually losing the characteristics of institutional balance. The military justice system is weakened, and policy-making power is concentrated in the hands of a few politically appointed officials; physical fitness and obedience are redefined as loyalty criteria; the symbolic meaning of the name "Department of War" is not just rhetoric, but a declaration: the American military machine is shedding its checks and balances and learning the language of "attack" again.
The Rewritten Logic of Power
Jon Harrison's resignation is just the surface. The real story is a minister trying to reshape the country's defense system using war logic. Hegseth has brought the Pentagon back to a familiar yet dangerous state — discipline above institutions, loyalty above law.
The history of the American military has often hovered at such turning points: from MacArthur to McNamara, from Vietnam to Iraq, every expansion of "military rationality" ultimately ended in political upheaval.
Today's "Department of War" may be repeating the same script. The difference is that this time, it's not on foreign battlefields, but within the very heart of America's own institutions.
Pete Hegseth's "new military" is no longer the calm, restrained, and civilian-controlled institution it once was, but a politically charged force rekindled with passion and anger. From the Department of Defense to the Department of War, from law to belief, from obese officers to ideological trials, this revolution is rewriting the soul of the American military at an astonishing speed.
The Pentagon still stands on the banks of the Potomac River, but its wind direction has changed.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7557275581063152179/
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