Pete Hegseth shutters war planning think tank
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo calling for the shuttering of the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. This office made plans and preparations for future conflicts. Sean Parnell, Pentagon spokesman, explained that this move is part of a long term plan that would rebuild this office’s function in a way that supports current strategic priorities. Senator Jack Reed, Democrat, claims that this would undermine the ability to prepare for future conflicts. Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican, called this office a waste and praised its being shut down.
From Independent:
After reports of the memo were published, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement about the “restructuring.”
“As part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to strengthening our national defense, the Secretary of Defense has directed the disestablishment of the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) and the development of a plan to rebuild it in alignment with the Department’s strategic priorities,” Parnell said.
“The Department remains committed to conducting rigorous, forward-looking strategic assessments that directly inform defense planning and decision-making,” he added.
The Office of Net Assessment, founded in 1973, plays a crucial strategic role in planning and preparing for possible conflicts.
The timing of the restructure was questioned by defense experts. “We’re in a period that looks a lot like the Cold War, and we’re doing away with an office that for decades helped senior leaders navigate that conflict,” former Pentagon strategist Thomas G. Mahnken of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank told the New York Times.
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it “shortsighted” and said it “undermine[d] our ability to prepare for future conflicts.”
But some Republicans have been pushing for the office to close. Sen. Chuck Grassley said he personally discussed “ONA waste” with Hegseth in January, where he recommended shuttering the office.
“After years raising Cain about the Office of Net Assessment’s failure to strengthen our national defense and its rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars, I’m thrilled to hear the news that President Trump is abolishing this wasteful and ineffective office,” Grassley said in a statement.
Additional Reading:
Lubin, R. (2025, March 14). Pete Hegseth shutters Pentagon office that helped military leaders plan for possible future wars. Independent. Link.
Category: Big Pentagon, Donald Trump
Obvious that this particular office has been a waste for awhile. Their “planning” for future conflicts while ignoring the realities of “present conflicts” and battlefield conditions have not bode well. But hey, a nice cushy job at a defense contractors Board of Directors is a win…for them. One would think, by now, that military planners would learn that you cannot fight future wars the way you fought past wars. Advances in technology will defeat the “Art of War” every.damn.time! History is replete with examples.
When the Cold War ended, it didn’t get shut-down/reduced just retasked/enlarged with things like Global Warming, disease, demographics, etc. as strategic problems with no room for actual, you know, war… then 20 years of post-9/11 conflict and “woke” crap happened. Some re-doing is needed.
Never heard of it and don’t know much about it.
A big deal in getting us back on track strategically versus the Soviet Union in the Cold War after ‘Nam, etc., but clearly not doing what it should be now.
Think about wars? Or more like how to get into more wars. We’ve basically been at war since 2001. There are people retiring from our Military now that have known NOTHING but conflict. Afghanistan, Iraq, GWOT, OIT, OEF, all the small conflicts in Africa, and of course the jackasses that want to get into a shooting war with a nuclear power. Yes, closing ‘War is our business office’ sounds like a good idea.
Well, when you put it that way…
Pretty much my thoughts. These are the guys that want us to stick our cranks in a light socket so they can sell the DOD more widgets. Find something more productive to do.
Uh the cold war has been over for decades. That happened during the Reagan administration. So for decades folks have been working on planning to end something that was already ended.
Yep that’s bureaucracy.
I thought this problem of war planning was solved years ago. 1) Never get involved in a land war in Asia; 2) Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.