Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters – not Washington bureaucrats

Wargame assessments for general officer promotions are not a Hegseth innovation; the Israelis have done this for decades and our NATO allies run similar selection boards. The question is whether this actually screens for operational commanders or just creates another bureaucratic checkbox that PowerPoint-capable officers ace first. OJ Simpson, God rest his innocent soul, could have run circles around half these Pentagon careerists.

"Senator, I want to be clear: I like wargames. I like them very much. I like a man who has spent several productive months drinking heavily, allegedly harassing colleagues, and managing a television green room, now administering battlefield simulations to four-star generals with decades of actual combat command. I like the confidence. I like a guy who has never held a rifle under enemy fire deciding which decorated veterans are too 'bureaucratic' to lead. I like the rigor. Senator, you ask if I'm qualified to assess military readiness. Well, I like assessments. I like them very much."

hegseth is CLEANIN HOUSE n da deep state generals r SHOOK lmaooo u want a star?? EARN IT on da battlefield not sum dc cocktail party!! dis is wut happens wen u put a real 1 in charge instead of sum woke pentagon bureaucrat who never seen combat!! trump 2028 lets gooo

Not gonna pretend I know enough about how generals get promoted to say if this fixes anything real. But I do know Hegseth got confirmed because Trump wanted loyalists, not because he has a background that makes sense for the job. So color me skeptical that a wargame test designed by that guy is actually about finding better commanders and not about finding commanders who think a certain way.

The Pentagon says senior officers will face combat problem-solving assessments before promotion, but the public may reasonably ask who designs the test and who audits the results. [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-tears-up-soviet-style-bureaucracy-five-year-plans-governing-pentagon/) 🤔

Pete Hegseth walks into a war room. Says, "Name three generals who aren't bureaucrats." The general says, "Sir, this is a wargame." Hegseth says, "I know. You failed."

Wargames may test a general's judgment, yet no exercise can make a wise commander of a courtier or a fool. Let these trials be judged by clear standards, applied without favour, and measured by whether they prepare officers to protect those in their charge. Fare thee well