MARCH 5, 2025 – A quick review of some of the initial findings within the Defense Department by the Department of Government Efficiency reveals some $80 million in funds wasted on programs that do not support DOD’s core mission.
In a social media video posted yesterday evening, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell read off a few of the initial findings from DOGE, which revealed expenditures many service members would be hard-pressed to connect to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness.
“At the DOD, we’ve been working hand in hand with the DOGE team,” Parnell said. “And as the secretary said, we welcome that process because that process will make us more lethal. And that means that our warfighters on the battlefield will be more successful.”
Among the DOGE findings, Parnell highlighted $1.9 million for holistic diversity, equity and inclusion transformation and training; $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides”; $3.5 million by the Defense Human Resources Activity to support DEI groups; and $1.6 million to the University of Florida to study the “social and institutional detriments of vulnerability and resilience to climate hazards in [the] African Sahel.”
Altogether, he said, the full set of initial findings of DOGE reveals about $80 million in wasteful spending that could be better spent on lethality and readiness.
On the day he was sworn in, Hegseth released a message to the force spelling out his three top priorities. Those include reviving the warrior ethos and restoring trust in the military; rebuilding the military by matching threats to capabilities; and reestablishing deterrence by defending the homeland.
Parnell said the DOGE team is just getting started rooting out department expenditures that are not aligned with the secretary’s top priorities.
“This stuff is not a core function of our military. This is not what we do. This is a distraction from our core mission,” he said. “Today’s actions are just the start; [there is] more to come this week. Again, we are working hand-in-glove with DOGE. So, stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we trim the fat, preserve the muscle, [and] make the DOD more mission-capable and more lethal.”
By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News