In conjunction with the video, the Pentagon released three memos outlining a requirement to justify outsourcing jobs that could be done by existing civilian workers, as well as the consolidation of the department’s acquisition and sustainment office.
Specifically, outsourced information technology consulting and management services will not be approved unless the Defense Department determines the contracted work cannot be done within the department. Similarly, advisory and assistance services that provide subject matter experts, policy development and organizational assessments, must be done in-house.
“While we rely on our vital industrial base to deliver cutting-edge technology and support, we must in-source more expertise and harness the unparalleled talent of our existing experts to drive financial efficiency and operational strength. We will become lean and mean, eliminating wasteful practices and reallocating resources to fortify our strategic edge,” Hegseth wrote in one memo.
Hegseth touted $10 billion in savings has already been identified, including a $1 billion “managing consultant contract” for the Air Force.
“These are consultants — not frontline fighters. They are giving us PowerPoints that we need less of,” Hegseth said. “We need more actual application.”
Steven Feinberg, the deputy defense secretary, will work with each of the services to review consulting contracts, according to the memos. Feinberg and the services will work with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The DOGE team will also have access to all unclassified contracts, according to one memo.
The Pentagon has not detailed a full list of the cost-savings identified, but previously said the department was cutting a human resources software development program that had run $280 million over budget, $30 million for unused information technology licenses, and $360 million in grants for emissions, diversity and artificial intelligence programs.
The funding, Hegseth said Wednesday, will be reinvested into “mission-related programs for our warfighters and their families.”
Hegseth’s first four months leading the department have been focused on the services’ capabilities and recruiting numbers, with little mention of longstanding quality-of-life issues that service members face, including derelict barracks and limited access to food. But the Pentagon this week began shifting its attention to some of those issues, such as the permanent change of station process and what homeschool resources are available to military families.
Reducing the frequency of permanent change of station moves, which the Pentagon has identified as a source of angst among military spouses, will potentially save $2.5 billion per year.
About the Author