Japan defense chief arranging talks with new U.S. counterpart Hegseth

Good luck. Someone will need to hold his hand and show him what to do. His last job as a Fox employee doesnt really transfer to defense secretary.

I would be waiting till other nations deal with him first, so he gets some idea of what hes doing. Dont be the guinea pig for everyone else. Remember this guy has no experience or qualifications for the position he holds. Worst pick ever, by the worst president ever. Seen like that it makes perfect sense.

It's like herding cats.

Hide the drinks cabinet.

Feel sorry for Japan, there is only one word: pathetic. It shows no dignity

Trump is testament of what America represents on the world stage on a cultural and social level today. Sorry, we could not be farther than that :) Hegseth who?

The problem with putting an unqualified person in a critically important position is that this doesn't become crystal clear to everyone until a major mishap occurs.

The problem with putting an unqualified person in a critically important position is that this doesn't become crystal clear to everyone until a major mishap occurs.

Which everyone will blame on every single person except for those who are responsible for it (i.e. Trump for nominating him and the idiots who voted to confirm him because they were scared of being called a nasty name on Truth Social).

Can you imagine being an elected official since the 90's, serving member of the House of Representatives, then being director-general of the Japan Defense Agency, then minister of defense once, and then assuming the same post again a few years later, and having suddenly to talk to... a guy from fox news who took a champagne bath and threw an axe at another person on live TV?

Geez,. . . And the Trump circus starts!

The problem with putting an unqualified person in a critically important position is that this doesn't become crystal clear to everyone until a major mishap occurs.

Excuse me?

Directive from Biden's Pentagon has been muddled and murkey at best. Basic maintenance!

After graduating from Princeton University, Hegseth began his career working as an analyst for Bear Stearns. From 2003 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2021, he served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, attaining the rank of Major. He received the Bronze Star while serving in the special operations forces during a combat deployment to Iraq in 2005. In 2014, he voluntarily deployed to Afghanistan to train the Afghan security forces. Following his military service, Hegseth became an active figure in conservative and Republican politics and was the executive director of Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. From 2014 to 2025, he was a political commentator for Fox News and was a weekend co-host of Fox & Friends from 2017 to 2024.

Militay Notables.

Combat Infantryman Badge 1st Bronze Star Medal w/ one Oak Leaf ClusterJoint Service Commendation MedalArmy Commendation Medal w/ one Oak Leaf Cluster National Defense Service Medal Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/ 2 service stars in the Iraq Campaign Medal w/ 2 service stars.

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Meda Armed Forces Reserve Medal Army Service Ribbon Overseas Service Ribbon NATO Medal.

Hegseth was also awarded the Expert Infantryman Badge Army policy does not permit its wearing at the same time as the similar-in-appearance Combat Infantryman Badge, though a new Master Combat Badge with a gold wreath will represent the combination. QUALIFIED! Not a bureaucrat!

He is more than qualified.

He will lead the way in a warrior class culture for our armed forcses for all branches. As it should be.

Peace through strength. Tough! He is a warrior! He is going to suprise many on the hill.

Popping his corks too early. Go easy on the nihonshu pete.

North Korea said Sunday it test-fired the missiles the previous day, its first such launches since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

By the way. North Korea was just put on notice today with snowy exercises.

Kudos to Walker, Osan, Kusan, Hump. And the outlayers as well the 8th Army and Airforce!

TDY Marines from all over! Rah!

I have never seen such service members so decicated and so enthusiastic as well hard working today in a blizzard.

Thank you for what you do. We have an amazing team and fighting force in Korea!

Hegseth is unqualified for the job full stop. A Princeton education doesn't qualify one to be Secretary of Defense of the world's largest military. Serving in combat doesn't qualify him. And Lloyd Austin ran a good DOD. Hegseth apologists embarrass themselves listing his "qualifications".

He is more than qualified.

So what did that make Lloyd Austin, overqualified to the solar system and back?

I'm not a military expert, but I just took a look online and best I can make out, Major is six ranks below General.

This is like putting a high school student in to replace someone who has a PhD.

Good luck. Someone will need to hold his hand and show him what to do. His last job as a Fox employee doesnt really transfer to defense secretary. 

That wasn't his first job, and besides, he can learn, the troops and the Congressmen who voted for him seem convinced, in the end, they are the ones who know and decide and they did, especially when Sen. Ernst approved of him that just basically solidified his confirmation.

I would be waiting till other nations deal with him first, so he gets some idea of what hes doing.

Shouldn't be too hard, have been deployed and seen the face of combat several times.

Dont be the guinea pig for everyone else. Remember this guy has no experience or qualifications for the position he holds. Worst pick ever, by the worst president ever. Seen like that it makes perfect sense.

He can learn, I think he is an outstanding choice, Pete Buttigieg didn't have any experience in the transportation sector as well, he was just a Mayor, Reagan was an actor, so it can be done. Again, the Senators had their hearings and were convinced as well as impressed, doesn't matter what you and I think, we are nobody and wouldn't know a thing, not to mention, we don't have the file info they do on any of the candidates, so we can't say Jack other than what "we" personally think, but in the end it is just our opinion.

"I am not a perfect person, but redemption is real," Pete Hedgseth.

*He can learn, I think he is an outstanding choice, Pete Buttigieg didn't have any experience in the transportation sector as well***,** Bingo! Well said.

He is in the slot and thats it. Time will tell.

Democrats will go on and on melting down and digging for dirt.

If the chaos in Kabul, wokeness and inefficiency in Washington, and the general decline of America’s military over the last four years under the leadership of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin—a former four-star general and defense contractor board member—have taught us anything, it is that the Defense Department doesn’t need another Washington insider at the helm.

To hammer home the point, below are five essential reforms that Hegseth can implement immediately now he is confirmed.

1) Restore Accountability 

By firing longtime bureaucrats and senior military officers who have failed to focus on lethality and combat power. A good place to start would be program managers in charge of maintaining the Navy’s ships, as well as generals and admirals who wholeheartedly endorsed and promulgated DEI initiatives and leadership connected to the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that resulted in the Abbey Gate bombing.

2) Make Contracting and Management Reforms

Hegseth can expand hiring and firing authorities, update federal regulations on commercial item procurement, and cut onerous bureaucratic red tape. The Government Accountability Office (and others) have identified contracting reforms that could save billions across the federal government if the departments are directed to implement them by their new secretaries. 

3) Cut All Non-Defense Research Spending

As Hegseth has advocated for in his books and media work, the military needs to return to a focus on warfighting. The defense budget is stuffed with non-defense spending, including medical research, questionable R&D spending going to white papers at universities that do not result in programs of record, and even billions spent on turning the entire fleet of non-tactical vehicles in the U.S. Army electric. This is all waste that Hegseth can cut. The U.S. military ought to be a warfighting machine focused on being as lethal as possible to defend the national security interests of the American people.

4) Increase Procurement

The money Hegseth saves from cutting non-defense research spending can be better spent on the procurement of military capabilities—ships, planes, and munitions. This fiscal year, the size of the fleet will shrink as the Navy retires more ships than it built and cuts orders for some of the precision-guided munitions we need most to deter China in the Indo-Pacific. Hopefully, the Fiscal Year 2026 President’s Defense Budget Request will ask for far more ships and munitions than the most recent one did, sending a strong demand signal to the defense industrial base to invest in infrastructure and labor by ordering more ships and munitions than the industry is currently positioned to produce, resulting in a long-term increase in capacity. 

 The U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Is Crumbling. There’s a Way To Pay for It

5) Revitalize and Reform Naval Shipbuilding. 

The shipbuilding industry is beset by problems, with shipbuilders facing constant delays and cost overruns, and the Department of Defense’s joint requirements process is hobbling the process of ship design. Something must be done to hold industry accountable for failing to deliver ships on time, and the Navy needs to be prevented from overloading new ships with onerous requirements, especially after the shipbuilders have started construction. Both the Department of the Navy and industry are at fault and in serious need of reform so that they can deliver the warships the Navy needs to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

American conservatives, along with anyone in favor of reforming the Pentagon and revitalizing our military, should support Pete Hegseth in his endeavor to do so. To that end, the woke policies that have tarnished the reputation of our military (along with anyone who had a hand in them) need to go, the bureaucratic inertia caused by red tape and overregulation needs to be broken, and the focus of the defense budget needs to be on the procurement of the ships, planes, and munitions we need to rebuild the U.S. military into the lethal and capable fighting force the American people deserve.

If Hegseth fails, Trump will fire him. There is no doubt about that. One of the reasons the Biden Administration was such a dumpster fire was that Biden wouldn’t fire anyone no matter how incompetent they were.

Thought Trump was gonna end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

promises made, promises broken.

Thought Trump was gonna end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

promises made, promises broken.

No, because he will, he already outlined a plan to get Russia to the table. Russia is already hurt to a degree by sanctions, Trump will add 10-25% tariffs to those sanctions not to mention seize some of the assets he and many of his oligarchs have in the U.S., Putin doesn’t want that, he agreed to sit down with the talks which hasn’t taken place yet because he’s still getting everything in place, so be patient, it’s coming.

Pete Hegseth is DEI, he is not qualified to do that job and only got hired because they wanted someone of his race to fill that position

He even can't tell any country's name in the ASEAN community , his knowledge is very limited.

The problem with putting an unqualified person in a critically important position is that this doesn't become crystal clear to everyone until a major mishap occurs.

Same apply to trump

Eventually even the dumbest of Americans will realize Trump is a massive fraudster.