This past week saw a rash of confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, including that of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense.
Hegseth kept his composure, demonstrated a grasp of the facts and laid out a plan for restoring peace through strength. He spoke of building a military that can both deter and defeat our enemies. Democrat members of the Senate Armed Services committee attacked his character, impugned his credentials, and insulted his family as Hegseth heralded the end of wokeness, DEI and the streamlining of bloated defense bureaucracy. Hegseth knocked it out of the park!
Most importantly, Hegseth said his focus would be on individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving under him. It was a breath of fresh air.
Young men and women who volunteer to go to hard places and do hard things while serving in uniform deserve a leader who has their backs. They deserve leadership that takes responsibility for mistakes and gives credit to the actual warfighters when all goes well.
Leaders “must love those [they] lead before [they] can be an effective leader,” Gen. Eric Shinseki said in his June 2003 retirement address. “You can certainly command without that sense of commitment,” Shinseki continued, “but you cannot lead without it.” Hegseth appears to have that mindset.
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, I deployed with my team to the far reaches of the Afghanistan theater of operations, living among the Afghan people for nearly a year. Just before I left, a legendary Green Beret, Col. Ola Lee Mize, came to see me. An awardee of the Medal of Honor, Mize fought in Korea, followed by three tours in Vietnam. One of the founders of the Special Warfare Center and the Combat Diver School, Mize also wore the Silver Star, five Bronze Stars for Valor, and the Purple Heart.
When Mize wanted to speak, you listened. He shut the door to my office and stood there for a few seconds.
“Williams, I hear you’re going to the war.”
“Yes sir,” I replied.
Nodding, he asked, “Where are you going to be?”
I told him out on a remote team. He nodded again, then stared hard and said:
“Let me tell you something. Gonna come the day you’re out there with your men and some blankety-blank in the rear is going to tell you what to do and you’re going to know it ain’t right. You tell him to go to Hell … you take care of your men.”
Then he stared at me as I nodded and once again said, “Yes sir.”
“Alright, you do good now,” he said, shaking my hand and then walking out.
I have never forgotten it, and I leaned on that advice several times.
I was mindful of those words as I listened to Hegseth’s opening statements. I am a third-generation Army Officer — my father, grandfather, and I, all in succession. My son is on active duty now. The fact that the man in line to lead the Department of Defense spoke so avidly, so passionately, about being there for the troops, restoring morale, rebuilding capabilities, removing obstacles, and awarding actual merit was more than refreshing; it was emotional.
I want this current generation of servicemembers, including my son, to have the best of everything. The best weapons, the best choices, the best training, the best leaders, and the best experiences.
The right leadership from D.C. makes a difference. Leadership that inspires all of society to be there for our troops. To thank them. To encourage them.
When I returned from Afghanistan, I out-processed at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty). I decided to go to church on a particular Sunday morning, taking a short walk to one of my favorite spots, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel, often called the Special Warfare Chapel. The stained glass windows of the renovated chapel depict soldiers kneeling in prayer on the battlefield. Standing in front of the chapel is a granite monument saying: “In tribute to the men of the Green Berets. United States Army Special Forces, whose valiant exploits will ever inspire mankind.” In very small script at the base it says, “Presented by John Wayne, July 4, 1968.”
You gotta love that: Green Berets, John Wayne and Jesus.
John Wayne loved troops. Wayne defied cultural blowback with his epic 1968 film, “The Green Berets.” Critics hated it. Roger Ebert said the film was “cruel and dishonest.” The New York Times called it “rotten and false.” But the troops loved it. It made them proud. The film paid homage to their sacrifices. Wayne visited Vietnam multiple times, with one account saying: "[The soldiers] felt this giant hand on their soldier and a voice saying: 'Hello, soldier. I'm John Wayne and I just want you to know a hell of a lot of folks back home appreciate what you're doing.'" Some of them would break out in tears. “I cannot sing or dance,” Wayne once said, “but I can certainly talk to the kids.”
Wayne knew it was not about him; it was about them. It was about what Hegseth told the nation in his hearing, and what Mize said to me: You take care of your men. You make sure they know they are more important than anything else. Tell them that you know that all the gee-whiz firepower in the world, all the technology, all the strategy, and all the muckety-mucks in the Pentagon don’t mean near as much as the men and women who put their boots on the ground.
I am hopeful. I am ready to see it. I want it for my son, for your sons and daughters, and for the next generation after that—a return to the halcyon days of duty, honor, and country — a time of putting the troops first.
To contact Phil or request him for a speaking engagement, go to www.rightsideradio.org.
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