Hegseth Gets a Failing Grade From Retired General

Members of Congress aren’t the only ones questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s legitimacy.

Paul Eaton, a retired brigadier general with 33 years of service, made biting remarks about Hegseth and his leadership of the Department of Defense in a Guardian article on Saturday.

“What we’re seeing is nibbling around the edges of a culture with a dominant theme that does nothing to prepare the armed forces of the United States to meet its next peer or near peer opponent,” Eaton wrote.

Eaton trained Iraqi troops during the Iraq War, and served in combat and post-combat assignments in Somalia, Bosnia, and Albania.

Eaton criticized Hegseth’s assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—a priority for the defense secretary since day one.

“What are we seeing in the Pentagon right now?” he said. “We’re hearing of DEI purging.”

Upon assuming the role, Hegseth launched an anti-DEI task force that eliminated all DEI offices and purged all DEI information from DOD websites and social media. Hegseth has also disbanded military programs focused on DEI training and ended race-conscious admissions at military academies.

Hegseth has famously claimed that women should not serve in combat roles. He’s removed powerful women and Black individuals serving in high-profile positions at the DOD, including heavily decorated Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, first female head of the U.S. Coast Guard Linda Fagan, and trailblazing Black Air Force General CQ Brown Jr.

“We need to clean house of woke generals,” he wrote in his 2024 book The War on Warriors. “It’s upside down, and ripe for firings—without replacements.”

Hegseth also moved to ban all transgender troops, deeming anyone with gender dysphoria “incompatible” with U.S. military service.

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, narrowly received enough votes to become defense secretary.

Eaton said that the “Saturday showman on Fox News” is not equipped to lead the military and implied that his DEI crackdown is distracting from what really matters—preparing for global conflict. His policies are discouraging enlistment for women and people of color at a time when the military might need them most.

“When I was in Iraq in 2004 developing the Iraqi armed forces, I would stand up in front of my Iraqi soldiers and I would make a case for the most important component of the U.S. military: Our judicial system and the good order and discipline of the armed forces,” Eaton said.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Hegseth for comment.