SecDef Takes Action on Planning to Realign DoD Civilian Workforce

Those of us who served in Uncle Sam's colors have had a habit of twitting the Department of Defense's civilian workforce, sometimes unfairly; many of them are veterans, and there are some fine, dedicated people in the ranks of DoD civilian employees - and, as in any organization, there is some dead weight.

Our new DoD chief is determined to eliminate that dead weight. On Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a major civilian workforce realignment, announcing the move on Saturday on X.

Yesterday, I signed a memo ordering a civilian workforce realignment in DOD that will make us more efficient and incentivize top performers. pic.twitter.com/htxqzb4fKK
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 29, 2025

Secretary Hegseth said:

All right, we are on the road, and we're still working. And today I want to announce that we are initiating the Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative. It's an important new opportunity to right-size DoD. For more information, check the information below.

The "information below" leads to an official DoD article.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum yesterday directing the realignment of the Defense Department's civilian workforce.
The memo, "Initiating the Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative," — which is addressed to senior Pentagon leadership, combatant commanders, and defense agency and DOD field activity directors — states that DOD will "realign the size of our civilian workforce and strategically restructure it to supercharge our American warfighters consistent with [Hegseth's] interim National Defense Strategy guidance."

In a nutshell, the initiative is intended to make DoD's workforce leaner and more efficient. This is something we've not heard from other recent SecDefs.

'This Is a Completely Different Thing,' CNN Analyst Squirms When Hit With Facts During Hegseth Discussion

The initiative will have two parts: First, an option to resign with full benefits until September 30, 2025, and early retirement for personnel eligible for it; and second, the DoD leadership will be conducting a review of their organizations by April 11, 2025, and presenting updated organization charts to Secretary Hegseth's office.

Seems like a good place to start.

Secretary Hegseth, in the memo, expressed his hope that the reduction in force can be done through voluntary means as much as possible, but he does leave the door open for involuntary layoffs.

"Exemptions should be rare," Hegseth said via the memo. "My intent is to maximize participation so that we can minimize the number of involuntary actions that may be required to achieve the strategic objectives."

While that's a laudable goal, the initiative is important and must be done no matter how many "involuntary actions" are necessary - there are 36 trillion good reasons for this. We're deep in this national debt hole, and in order to stop the digging, the focus of every member of the Trump administration should be on efficiency. The federal Colossus has to be cut down to size; we see a lot of talk about "non-essential" federal employees, especially every time a partial government shutdown is on the table. But with the current debt calamity facing us, it's obvious to anyone with enough sense to come in out of the rain that we can't afford any "non-essential" federal employees.

Secretary of Defense Hegseth's initiative is a good start. This is an idea that needs to grow legs.

Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

Help us report on Trump and Hegesth's successes as they make our military great again. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.