When it comes to issues related to SBM, our fierce, mighty Secretary of War, Pete Hesgeth is failing at every level. This spring, he turned the camera on himself and announced the flu vaccine would be optional for soldiers. Immediately after this, the headlines read Scores Fall Ill at Air Force Base After Hegseth Makes Flu Vaccine Optional. Hundreds of people got sick, six were hospitalized, and one young airman lost his life. The policy was soon reversed.
Shortly after this, Hesgeth again plopped himself in front of a camera and made a video titled The High-T Department of War, which mandated testosterone screening for troops over 30. This unscientific policy was also rescinded soon after this.
Elsewhere, Hesgeth is punishing soldiers who have a mental health crisis. According to the article Navy Sailor Who Jumped Off USS Lincoln Faces Disciplinary Charges:
A sailor who jumped from the USS Abraham Lincoln this month in what his wife described as a suicide attempt is now facing disciplinary action from the Navy, according to his wife and charging documents reviewed by MS NOW.
The wife, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive disciplinary actions, said her husband is facing nonjudicial punishment for violating articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The charging documents, which were reviewed by MS NOW, show that the sailor has been accused of violating Article 83 for “malingering,” which is defined as a service member “intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service,” and Article 86 for “absence without leave,” which means a service member failed to be at their required place of duty without proper authority.
“I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,” the wife told MS NOW. “Instead of giving them help, this is just another huge stressor.”
Hesgeth is also teaming up with his MAHA brethren, who are also fond of making videos. RFK has made some bizarre, topless videos and a recent article read RFK Jr. Uses Military Aircraft as He Campaigns for GOP in Midterms.
Hesgeth is also working with them to cast doubt on vaccines and carry out financial shenanigans. A recent social media post said:
RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth are investigating whether COVID vaccines caused deaths and injuries among America’s service members.
Army doctor Theresa Long has been tasked with examining military health data and thousands of unverified death reports submitted after vaccination.
Nearly 9,000 service members were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine mandate.
Our troops were required to take these shots.
They deserve a full accounting of what happened afterward.
This investigation is long overdue.
Dr. Long has no relevant expertise on this topic and previously compared doctors who vaccinated soldiers to Nazis who were sent to the gallows for experimenting on prisoners.
Hesgeth also partnered with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to the Department of War, supposedly for biodefense projects. The secretive transfer of funds came to light only thanks to a press release from Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and according to an article tilted Revealed: Inside the US Military’s Plan to Tap Huge Sums From the NIH:
Federal law does allow agreements between US agencies to share funding in some circumstances, says Samuel Bagenstos, who until December 2024 was the top lawyer for the NIH’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. But “what’s not appropriate or legal is saying, ‘Look, DoD needs money, NIH has money, we’re going to take money and send it to the DoD,’” he says. If the administration is using NIH resources to cover shortfalls in the military budget, “that would be illegal, because that would be using funding not to serve the purposes of NIH, but to serve the purposes of DoD”.
Hesgeth and Dr. Bhattacharya are old buddies, who previously enjoyed spreading doubt and disinformation on TV.
I think a useful framework to understand our current moment is to realize that the content creators got in charge. That’s all these men really were, and across our entire government, we are witnessing the incompetence, malevolence, and insider dealing when Fox News stars gain power.