Hegseth is shaking up the Pentagon as the US wages war - but at what cost?

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is pressing ahead with a major overhaul of the Pentagon while the United States is also managing an overseas military confrontation with Iran. The story says the twin pressures are raising concerns about whether the armed forces are being stretched too thin and whether US alliances, especially in Europe, could be weakened.

A central example is the resignation last week of Dan Driscoll, the US Army secretary, after reported tensions with Hegseth over the pace and direction of reforms. Driscoll had been associated with efforts to modernise the Army, including wider use of drones and faster adaptation to lessons from the war in Ukraine. The BBC says his departure is part of a wider pattern in which Hegseth has removed or sidelined a large number of senior military and civilian defence leaders.

The article frames Hegseth’s changes as both cultural and structural: he has pushed to end diversity initiatives, tighten standards and remove officers he views as tied to past failures. Supporters of the shake-up say it is meant to restore a more aggressive military ethos, while critics warn it has created uncertainty and disrupted command momentum.

The BBC also links the internal Pentagon upheaval to broader strategic concerns. It says US resources have been shifted toward the Gulf, with knock-on effects for Europe, where officials and analysts worry about vulnerabilities as Russia increases pressure on NATO members.