As I transitioned out of non-profit management a new guy popped on the scene. A former Navy SEAL commanding officer with an impressive paper pedigree (including posting to the White House and Oxford) launched a charity dedicated to helping veterans. Eric Greitens became an important person in government, charity and social circles. The Mission Continues swallowed a great deal of good press.
Switching from Democrat to Republican, alas, it soon became clear that his major objective involved promoting Eric Greitens for high political office. He never discouraged talk of a big house in Washington. Running – and winning – Missouri’s governorship obviously checked-off Step 1. He never made Step 2 or beyond.
The young, lean golden boy drowned aside the Missouri River. Hubris let him think personal “hobbies” [I’m being nice] could stay hidden. A lack of political experience allowed him to be out maneuvered by a former Army sergeant and the Ozark GOP Mafia, casting Eric into the wilderness.
Oh, he tried again, running in the primary for United States Senate – where he got trounced by Eric Schmitt in 2022.
Perhaps the current Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, missed the life lesson Eric Greitens teaches.
Like the temporary Missouri governor, Hegseth parlayed a bit of war time military service (in a career much less stellar than Greitens’) into jobs leading veterans charities. When that went south he morphed into a FOX News commentator, thence to a weekend morning anchor seat. While never elected, he holds an extremely political – and critical – place in the federal government.
Back during the Greitens administration the joke was that, to distract Eric, simply have a bunch of teenage boys start doing push-up on the lawn of the State Capitol: the governor would rush outside to join them, abandoning his desk.
That might work with Hegseth too.
Unfortunately, like Greitens, Hegseth proves he’s unable to manage, to run a large operation. Instead of valuing seniority the secretary vilifies the older, seasoned leaders produced by military service. He worries more about having testosterone-heavy warriors than arranging logistics for months of war on the far side of the world. He began a war expecting Iran – a place with a track record of not worrying about hardships dumped on their citizens – to quiver and capitulate to America’s overwhelming superiority.
Isn’t that the same mistake Russia made over Ukraine?
It is glaringly obvious that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump believe the current Secretary of War is the right man to defend America. To prepare our military for known and yet unknown threats, for new technologies and dangers. God help us.
Eventually (let’s hope soon) the Pete Hegseth era will end. Let’s hope his replacement isn’t a guy named Eric from Missouri.
Glenn Koenen