Chilly, calculating, and ruthless adversaries don’t hesitate. Sizzling, searing shrapnel and bullets don’t discriminate. Battle is probably the most ruthless, utilitarian endeavor in humanity: both you’re prepared, otherwise you aren’t. Both you come dwelling, otherwise you don’t. That’s the final measure of readiness, and that’s the reason our troopers prepare so arduous.
Our president and secretary of conflict perceive that wars are received earlier than they’re fought. The primary battle of the following conflict started final April when President Trump and Secretary of Battle Pete Hegseth unleashed sweeping reforms to modernize our army. The Military heard that order loud and clear, and we’ve been battling complacency, calcification and many years of contorted decision-making ever since.
In September, Hegseth said, “Requirements have to be uniform, gender-neutral, and excessive. If not, they’re not requirements — they’re simply recommendations, recommendations that get our little kids killed.”
That has been the Military’s lodestar over the previous 12 months, but additionally since our founding, over 250 years in the past: put together our troopers to dominate the battlefield, elevate their high quality of life whereas they’re dwelling and take away any obstacles to reaching that purpose. Giving our troopers something much less, then sending them to conflict, is unconscionable.
Practically a 12 months later, we’re proud to say that we’ve got made substantial progress towards our purpose of getting ready troopers to dominate on the battlefield.
Operationally, troopers are innovating and driving change. Items just like the twenty fifth Infantry Division in Hawaii and the one hundred and first Airborne Division at Fort Campbell are leveraging cutting-edge applied sciences, similar to 3D printing, to create drones tailor-made to their missions.
The Military Software program Manufacturing unit is empowering troopers to develop software program options that improve operational effectiveness. Transformation in Contact models are embedding engineers and coders instantly into operational environments, closing the innovation loop and iterating shortly to make sure troopers have the instruments they want to achieve dynamic and unpredictable battlespaces.
Institutionally, we’ve made basic acquisition reforms to take operator suggestions and shortly ship what troopers want. Impressed by the president’s name for modernization and Secretary Hegseth’s mandate to remove inefficiency, we lower forms and delegated decision-making authority to Program Acquisition Executives, enabling them to maneuver shortly and scale validated capabilities. FUZE, the Military’s enterprise funding mannequin, identifies, seeds, exams and matures promising applied sciences.
Superior manufacturing initiatives led by Military Materiel Command enable us to provide tools organically, reply quickly to demand and hold our pressure prepared. These reforms guarantee troopers have entry to one of the best instruments and applied sciences to dominate the battlefield.
Culturally, we’ve promoted a mindset of lethality, innovation and uncompromising requirements. Secretary Hegseth’s declaration that “requirements have to be uniform, gender-neutral and excessive” has guided our efforts to implement rigorous coaching and empower leaders at each degree.
Troopers, from abroad deployments to fundamental coaching, are experimenting, studying and pushing classes discovered all the best way to the Pentagon. All over the place we go, troopers report there’s a tangible change — they will really feel it of their formations — and it’s completely refreshing.
Troopers make sacrifices for our nation, however their high quality of life shouldn’t be certainly one of them.
We’re aggressively supporting Secretary Hegseth’s “Clear, Snug, Secure” mandate to enhance dwelling circumstances in our barracks. Military-wide housing inspections are underway, and tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} have been allotted to deal with deficiencies.
Free barracks WiFi initiatives are increasing quickly, beginning with Fort Riley, to make sure troopers keep related.
In partnership with leaders like Robert Irvine, we’re launching campus-style eating choices that present handy, reasonably priced and wholesome meals, increasing to 5 installations this 12 months. Enhancing troopers’ high quality of life isn’t just an ethical obligation — it’s important to sustaining a prepared and resilient pressure.
We’ve diminished obstacles to those reforms, however we’d like assist.
Inside our Title 10 authorities, we aggressively tore down bureaucratic obstacles. We moved funding away from wasteful spending and out of date packages and aligned it towards initiatives that profit our troopers — like FUZE, drones and the ISV.
We lower headquarters billets, launched automation to extend output and moved extra troopers and leaders to preventing formations. Amid record-setting recruiting and retention numbers, we raised our requirements for look, efficiency and conduct.
However to maintain this momentum, we’d like Congress to proceed to assist agile funding and modernization efforts. We want assist transferring away from legacy platforms and towards capabilities that meet the calls for of contemporary warfare. Most significantly, we’d like the American individuals to advocate for change and assist our troopers.
Enabling our troopers to combat, win and return house is in each American’s curiosity. It’s incumbent that our efforts bolster the Military’s means to stay probably the most deadly and succesful preventing pressure on this planet.
We made nice headway in 2025 to arrange our troopers, enhance their high quality of life and cut back obstacles — however we’ve got solely scratched the floor. These adjustments will manifest, they are going to compound and our Military will probably be stronger than ever.
Our adversaries are relentless and won’t hesitate to problem our lifestyle. American troopers stand able to face that problem, however they can not do it alone. We should all guarantee they’re able to combat, win and return dwelling.
Daniel P. Driscoll turned the twenty sixth secretary of the U.S. Military on Feb. 25, 2025. A local of Boone, North Carolina, he oversees operations, modernization and useful resource allocation for practically a million lively, Guard and Reserve troopers and greater than 265,000 Military Civilians. He’s a former Military officer who led a cavalry platoon of the tenth Mountain Division in fight in Iraq. He subsequently acquired a Juris Physician from Yale Regulation College and have become a enterprise chief within the personal sector.
