Hegseth orders review of Pentagon acquisition program

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to review its Army acquisition program.

In an April 30 memo to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Hegseth ordered wide changes to the division.

“To ensure the Army [is] prepared for the complex and evolving battlefield of the future, the Secretary of Defense directed the Secretary of the Army to rebuild out Army, restore the warrior ethos, and reestablish deterrence,” the Defense Department said Thursday in a statement.

The memo directs Driscoll to implement a transformation strategy, eliminate wasteful spending, reform its acquisition process and more. He was also pressed to expand the military branch's capabilities for “future warfare,” including long-range missiles, the use of artificial intelligence and advance manufacturing, per the memo.

Hegseth — who has been under scrutiny for his leadership of the Defense Department in the wake of a controversy over his use of the discrete messaging app Signal — also asked the Army chief to accelerate modernization by cutting outdated programs and scale back wasteful spending.

The memo also orders larger charges within the U.S. Army, which include merging headquarters, reducing and restructuring manned attack helicopter formations and modifying spending contracts, among other tasks.

The memo has a specific focus on homeland security, securing the southern border, building President Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system and “deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region.”

“As the Army prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, our Nation requires her Army to move further, faster, and fight harder than any other force on Earth,” the memo concluded. “President Trump and I will not let this Nation down.”

In a letter Thursday to Army leaders, Driscoll responded to the memo, pledging to implement changes consistent with Hegseth's directives.

"Our Army will transform to a leaner, more lethal force by adapting how we fight, train, organize, and buy equipment," he wrote.

Driscoll in turn called on Army leaders to drive change within the agency and take care of its soldiers in an "ever-changing battlefield."