Pentagon Firings Have Nothing to Do With ‘Culture’
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has cited the need to change the Pentagon's culture, emphasizing lethality and merit over what he describes as social engineering. The author, Mark Hertling, argues that the military already possesses a strong, time-tested culture rooted in discipline and trust. He warns that vague calls for cultural change, especially when tied to personnel firings, are misleading and potentially harmful.
- ▪Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dismissed senior military leaders, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
- ▪Hegseth stated his goal is to change the Pentagon's culture to prioritize 'lethality' and reduce focus on race and gender initiatives.
- ▪Mark Hertling, a retired Army lieutenant general, contends that military culture is built through experience and cannot be altered by top-down declarations.
- ▪Organizational culture, according to experts like Michael Mankins and Edgar H. Schein, is defined by behavior and shared assumptions, not slogans or policy statements.
- ▪Hertling warns that undefined cultural change efforts in large organizations often reflect a lack of clarity rather than strategic vision.
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Pentagon Firings Have Nothing to Do With ‘Culture’The U.S. military’s culture doesn’t need radical change—and if it did, this wouldn’t be the way to go about it.Mark HertlingMay 04, 2026ShareSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)DURING RECENT BUDGET TESTIMONY before both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was repeatedly pressed—by Republicans and Democrats alike—on several specific and unrelated topics. One of those was his dismissal of senior leaders, including the well-respected Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George. To his credit, Hegseth declined to discuss the reasons for specific personnel decisions.
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