Last week we talked about Pete Hegseth's State of the Force speech with a focus on aesthetics and message...pretty much a peacock strutting around a stage talking about how identity matters for showing merit.

This week we cover the six Defense Department reforms he proposed:

1. AutoWarCom, a new combatant command for autonomous warfare.

2. Project Meridian, a commission led by tech bros with no military experience to study the future of warfare.

3. Fortress America, an initiative to make US bases more resilient.

4. The Next Great American Base, a proposed super base with no apparent mission.

5. America's Corps of Cadets, a new officer pipeline focused on five specific universities, including two religious schools.

6. Office of Religious Affairs, a new organization focused on "spiritual readiness" that bypasses the Chaplain Corps and unit commanders.

These initiatives cluster around three themes: politicization of leadership and institutions, contractor and ideological influence over strategy, and erosion of apolitical norms that make the US military so effective.

Scott and I use our experience and expertise to analyze these proposals discuss requirements, how we see the intent, and possible outcomes.

The Foggy Bottom Line? Hegseth wants to purge the military of dissent, hand national defense to tech bros and indoctrinate the troops with Christian nationalism.

This will not make the US military more lethal, but it sets conditions for more grifting.

On September 30, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a "State of the Force" address to members of the US military.

Scott and I watched it, and we have opinions.

Hegseth's framing of merit demonstrates that he judges merit on identity rather than...actual merit. Some cannot be effective because he thinks they are "beardos, weirdos, trannies."

He suggested that unity matters more than diversity, implying that a diverse group cannot unite to complete a mission. This is a Christian Nationalist view that suggests he only believes white Christian males from "central casting" can truly have merit.

Scott and I break down the speech from our combat soldier and intelligence officer perspective, starting with the context: who is Pete Hegseth?

Hegseth also proposed six Department reform proposals, three of which seem intended to create a more homogenous force, free of anyone who does not follow his understanding of Western culture.

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Trump spoke at the UN General Assembly on the Iran war and US foreign policy with a clear message to the Iranian government: Make a deal or "I'll annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly." A not so subtle threat to use nuclear weapons.

Trump also bragged about stealing Venezuelan oil reserves.

Domestic and international reactions were immediate: this is a breakdown of the international rules-based order the US constructed after World War I. French President Macron: it's a return to the "law of the jungle."

Scott and I briefly discuss the history of the international order, how this threatens it, and the implications of a threat to nuke Iran, including the further hit to America's reputation as a trusted partner, how this actually makes Iran more defiant and likely to seek nuclear weapons, and how this pushes long-time allies even further away.

Tune in for a lively conversation between two crusty old combat soldiers with academic credentials in international relations and decades of military experience.

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