Trump Looks to Shake-up DoD

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, 2019)

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President-elect Donald Trump’s lengthy meeting on Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House was cordial and committed to a straightforward transition of power as the president-elect moves quickly to build out his new administration. “Congratulations,” Biden said, “Welcome. Welcome back.” Trump thanked Biden and said, “Politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.”

Trump has been building his administration this week: He has tapped Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth for DefSec; former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel; longtime friend Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East; and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to run Homeland Security. The president-elect has also named Bill McGinley, White House counsel, reports Military.com. Trump has asked US Rep. Michael Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser. And Military.com also reports Trump’s former acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Tom Homan, will serve as “border czar.”

Trump’s naming of Hegseth stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world, reports AP News, by nominating someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage, to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military.

Pentagon officials are holding informal discussions about how the DoD would respond if Trump issues orders to deploy active-duty troops domestically, fire large swaths of apolitical staffers, or issue unlawful orders, defense officials told CNN. Officials are gaming out scenarios to prepare for an overhaul of the Pentagon. “We are all preparing and planning for the worst-case scenario, but the reality is that we don’t know how this is going to play out yet,” one defense official said.

Trump’s transition team has readied an executive order for a “warrior board” with the power to purge any three- or four-star generals as it sees fit, reports Yahoo.com. The board would send its dismissal recommendations to Trump, and they would be acted upon within 30 days.

Tesla shares extended last week’s sharp rally with a jump of over 8% on Monday, fueled by bets of the automaker benefiting from CEO Musk’s close ties with the president-elect. Reuters reports, at $348.30, Tesla is expected to add nearly $87 billion to its value if gains hold. The stock has jumped nearly 28% since Trump’s election victory was declared on Wednesday, surpassing $1 trillion in market value for the first time in two years.

Military.com reports the Justice Department disclosed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Trump and is charging a man who said he had been tasked by an Iranian government official before last week’s election with planning the assassination of the Republican president-elect.

The next session of Congress will feature the most women veterans ever elected to the House and Senate, reports Military Times. Eight won races this year, and Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks will likely make it nine. The Des Moines Register reports Miller-Meeks holds a small lead in her re-election bid and has put herself up for secretary of the House Republican Conference. Trump has selected House GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations, which has shaken House leadership positions.

CACI International will appeal a jury verdict finding it shares responsibility with the US Army for abuses of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison during the early years of the war in Iraq. Washington Technology reports the jury awarded $42 million in damages to three Iraqi men, who claimed to have been tortured at the prison. CACI employees worked as interrogators at the prison under a contract with the US government.

Military Times reports the number of homeless veterans in America dropped to its lowest level on record this year, down more than 55% over the last 14 years, according to data released by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday.

Veteran Affairs has started the process to designate multiple myeloma and acute and chronic leukemias as linked to military service in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and elsewhere, a change that will give affected veterans quicker access to disability compensation, reports Military.com. Last week the VA announced that bladder cancer and ureter cancers will be designated as presumptive illnesses, and veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan in the early 2000s also would qualify for expedited claims.

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine, reports Military.com. Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years.

Military.com reports China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press.

North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported Tuesday. Military.com reports the US, South Korea, and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Two US Navy destroyers came under attack by missiles and drones launched by Houthi rebels while they were sailing through a strait located between Yemen and Djibouti on Monday, reports Military.com. The vessels were “attacked by at least eight one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles, which were successfully engaged and defeated,” said Pentagon Press Secretary MAJGEN Pat Ryder.

Maryland marked Veterans Day by commissioning one of its own, Harriet Tubman, as a brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard in recognition for her service to the Union during the Civil War as an operational leader and spy, reports Military.com. Nicknamed the “American Moses,” Tubman is best known for shepherding 70 family members and friends to freedom along the Underground Railroad. But she also risked her life and own safety as a nurse for Union soldiers in Port Royal, SC, before becoming a reconnaissance scout and squad leader during operations on the Combahee River.

Maryland faces more than $1 billion in combined structural and cash deficits in the current year, on track to become one of the worst fiscal situations in two decades, reports Maryland Matters. That gap more than doubles to $2.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and 2027. By FY28, the state will exhaust funds set aside for education reforms and will require money from the general fund. The structural deficit grows to nearly $4.7 billion in 2028, then $5.2 billion a year later, and again to $5.9 billion in fiscal 2030.

 Contracts:

BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $104,793,401 cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Webster Outlying Field, Ship and Air Integrated Warfare Division with engineering, logistics, integration and installation support for command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence systems, information and computer systems, and sensor systems for various platforms to include ships, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, shore installations, and ground-based systems for the Navy, Foreign Military Sales customers and non-Department of Defense partners. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (88%); and Saint Inigoes, Maryland (12%), and is expected to be completed by October 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competed on a full and open basis with two offers received. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042125D0002).

Direct Energy Business LLC, Houston, Texas (SPE604-25-D-8005, $71,488,229); Constellation NewEnergy Inc., Baltimore, Maryland (SPE604-24-D-8000, $57,125,023); Engie Resources LLC, Houston, Texas (SPE604-25-D-8002, $25,752,324); WGL Energy Services Inc., Vienna, Virginia (SPE604-25-D-8004, $21,570,822); and Shell Energy Solutions, The Woodlands, Texas (SPE604-25-D-8003, $9,564,975), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, requirements contract under solicitation SPE604-24-R-0408 to supply and deliver retail electricity and ancillary/incidental services. This was a competitive acquisition with six responses received. These are one-year contracts with no option periods. Locations of performance are Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC, with a Dec. 31, 2025, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, the Defense Department, the Department of Energy, the Department of Veterans Administration, the National Institute of Health, and the Department of Agriculture. The using customer is solely responsible for funding this contract and funds vary in appropriation type and fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a ceiling $5,570,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for mission partner environment operations, maintenance, and sustainment. This contract provides for service support strategy, material readiness, operational performance requirements, and sustainment of fielded and operational capabilities. Work will be performed in the National Capital Region; Tampa, Florida; Hawaii; the United Kingdom; and other stateside and overseas locations; and is expected to be completed by Dec. 9, 2035. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000,000 are being obligated at the time award. The Secretary of the Air Force Concepts, Development, and Management, Fairfax, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA7146-25-D-0002).

BAM Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $7,773,004 firm-fixed-price contract for sustainment and support for Enterprise-Exceptional Family Member Program system services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of May 14, 2030. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,773,004 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting command, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W519TC-25-C-0002). 

Kratos Technology & Training Solutions Inc., San Diego, California, was awarded a $116,736,779 cost-plus-award-fee contract for advanced fire control ground infrastructure efforts. This contract provides for ground segment development associated with advanced fire control missions for the Space Development Agency. Work will be performed at Colorado Springs, Colorado; Herndon, and Chantilly, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by December 2029. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,300,000; and fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $10,300,000, are being obligated at time of award. The Space Development Agency, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (FA2401-25-C-0004). (Awarded Nov. 8, 2024)

Cognito Systems LLC, Newport News, Virginia, was awarded a $50,271,379 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Certified Athletic Trainer and Strength Conditioning Specialist/Sports Medicine and Injury Program. This contract provides for on-site Certified Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Specialist services for the Training and Education Command in support of the Marine Corps Operational Forces. Work will be performed at the following locations: Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (22%); MCB Camp Pendleton, California (9%); MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (9%); Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan (7%); Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Twentynine Palms, California (5%); Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California (5%); Camp Horno, California (4%); Camp San Mateo, California (4%); MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina (4%); Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan (4%); Camp Del Mar, California (3%); MCAS New River, North Carolina (3%); Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego, California (2%); Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan (2%); Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan (2%); Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan (2%); MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, Japan (2%); MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina (2%); MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina (2%); MCAS Yuma, Arizona (1%); MCAS Iwakuni, Japan (1%); Marine Detachment, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (1%); Marine Detachment Fort Sill, Oklahoma (1%); Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California (1%); Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida (1%); and MCB Quantico, Virginia (1%). Work is expected to be completed Nov. 29, 2029. This contract includes a five-year ordering period with a maximum value of $50,271,379. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance, Marine Corps funds in the amount of $3,000,000 are being obligated at time of award for the first task order and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the SAM.gov website with 11 proposals received. The Marine Corps Installation National Capital Region-Regional Contracting Office, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M00264-24-D-0012).

General Dynamics Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $21,875,096 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-24-C-6240 to exercise options for engineering development and production. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (30%); Groton, Connecticut (25%); Port Orchard, Washington (15%); Las Vegas, Nevada (10%); Cleveland, Ohio (10%); Chesapeake, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); and Kings Bay, Georgia (2%), and is expected to be completed by January 2026. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,558,325 (75%); and fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $870,658 (25%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.