2
1.
Restore the Warrior Ethos
to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force; in doing
so, we will reestablish trust in our military—and address the recruiting, retention and
readiness crisis in our ranks. The strength of our military is our unity—our shared
purpose—not our differences.
2.
Rebuild our Military
, always matching threats to capabilities; this includes reviving
our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisition process (no more “Valley of
Death” for new defense companies), modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the
Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies.
3.
Re-establish Deterrence
. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland—our
borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our
partners and allies
to deter
aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. Finally, we will
responsibly end wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources—and reorient to larger
threats. We can no longer count on “reputational deterrence”—we need real
deterrence.
The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength. And in
pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically a-political
and stridently Constitutional. Unlike the current administration,
politics should play no part
in military matters
. We are not Republicans or Democrats—we are American warriors. Our
standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word).
We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every
pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag
officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit.
Leaders—at all levels—will be held accountable. And warfighting and lethality—and the
readiness of the troops
and their families
—will be our only focus.
That has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at
Princeton University in 2001. I joined the military because I love my country and felt an
obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq,
Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, DC—many of which are here today. This
includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped
immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never
stopped.
It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years. But,
as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with
supposedly “the right credentials”—whether they are retired generals, academics, or
defense contractor executives—and where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree,
that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone
with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.
