Pentagon Hires Conservative Veterans, Influencers Into Unspecified Roles

The Department of Defense secretly hired conservative military veterans to government roles, the Washington Post reported.

The Pentagon has reportedly hired conservative military veterans with large social media followings to unspecified government positions.

The Washington Post reported late Sunday that the Pentagon hired two conservative commentators—Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with more than 135,000 X followers, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with 620,000 X followers—to work in Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

The reports raise questions about transparency and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's intentions in office. The former Fox News co-host has made efforts to influence the public's perception of the Pentagon, including hiring right-wing press corps to cover the government department while ostracizing other news outlets, leading to lawsuits.

He's consistently pushed a self-described "warrior ethos" intended to be adopted by service members and their superiors. Hegseth has also routinely mentioned "lethality" on the battlefield as a means of combating adversaries.

Military.com reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Who Are Maness and Schlichter?

Both Maness and Schlichter come from different backgrounds but have both espoused adulation towards the current administration and its policies.

Maness ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana and is the chairman of GatorPAC, a political action committee that advocated for draining "the swamp" in Washington. In articles published online, he has advocated for removing "disloyal" employees in the Pentagon.

Schlichter writes for conservative site Townhall and has described President Donald Trump as a "hero" correlating with the U.S. war with Iran. He's also praised Hegseth publicly on platforms like X.

The Post also reported that the DOD listed Thomas Anderson, a retired Army colonel and influencer with more than 323,000 followers, in Pentagon records. He is no longer listed in Pentagon records as of this week, they added.

The publication, citing anonymous sources and corroborated records, said the Pentagon made the appointments without publicly disclosing them and declined to reveal their assignments, which they said could lead to changes in policy.

The sources told the publication that the individuals are assigned as "special government employees," who are limited by law to working no more than 130 days in any 365-day period or "highly qualified experts."

The Pentagon did not disclose the salaries or other financial agreements it had made with the veterans.

Personnel Changes in the Pentagon

There have been other recent personnel changes and reported potential personnel changes at the Pentagon.

Reports surfaced last week that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down by the end of the year due to months of purported tension with Hegseth.

Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April without offering a public explanation. Trump has not nominated a permanent replacement.

The Pentagon has also recently fired reporters at Stars and Stripes, a long-running military publication that operates independently of the Pentagon but receives some 65% of its budget from the department.

The department also hired conservative journalist Jerry Dunleavy to work on Hegseth's team's review of the fall of Afghanistan in 2021. The Pentagon disclosed Dunleavy's role in May.