Just four days after Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon, tragedy struck.
A U.S. Army helicopter crashed in a midair collision late Wednesday night with an American Airlines passenger plane outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
As the newly confirmed secretary of defense, Hegseth posted on X that the department was “actively monitoring” the situation and “poised to assist if needed.” A later statement from Hegseth said an investigation had been “launched immediately by the Army and DoD” into the incident.
The tragedy and the implications for the Pentagon will likely add to the “uneasy” and “chaotic” environment in the building over Hegseth’s first days. Three career Defense officials described an uncertain workforce under pressure to keep up with the barrage of priorities the White House has pushed out.
Some of the Trump administration’s earliest moves — from eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices to reinstating troops that refused the COVID-19 vaccine with back pay — have already made career Department of Defense officials nervous.
“They gave a lot of purpose, but we don’t know how to implement a lot of it,” one of these officials said.
Change is apparent even in how the Pentagon is decorated: Civilian staff spent the week changing offices. Both of Gen. Mark Milley’s official portraits have been removed.
Hegseth made headlines immediately with his move to revoke Milley’s security detail and clearance within days of starting the job and his order for an inspector general review of Milley’s conduct.The official portrait of Mark Esper, a former secretary of defense, was removed on Wednesday from its spot in the halls.
Meanwhile, stories are flying around the building of lost administration appointees popping their heads into meetings looking for where to go, which one Defense official confirmed.
There are just “a bunch of new people,” the official said, noting that many of them are still learning their way around the building.
While administration staff is getting up to speed, the department is rushing to meet deadlines. The executive orders did appear to allot some time to let the chaos settle. President Donald Trump’s most controversial orders to the Pentagon require policy plans to be implemented in the coming weeks. The effective ban on transgender troops sets a 60-day deadline for updating DOD policies. The order to reinstate service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine with back pay requires a report showing the “progress in implementing this order” within 60 days.
“The Department of Defense will fully execute and implement all directives outlined,” while “ensuring that they are carried out with the utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives,” a department spokesperson told NOTUS in a statement.
“We will provide status updates as we are able,” the statement read.
At an Association of the U.S. Army event, Gen. Randy George, the chief of staff of the Army, was asked if he had any concerns about the “many executive orders directed to the DOD.” He said he wasn’t concerned.
“This is one of the things that we do in the military as far as transition,” George said Wednesday morning.
“We’re working through all of that stuff just like we normally do,” he said.
Hegseth’s attention in the meantime will have to turn to the investigation of the collision. Hegseth said that the Defense Department is actively investigating the collision.
Though its clear his directives on DEI are still top of mind, even in the face of tragedy.
“We will have the best and brightest in every position possible,” Hegseth said at a press briefing with Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy about the crash. “It is colorblind and merit based. The best leaders possible, whether it’s flying blackhawks or flying airplanes, leading platoons or in government. The era of DEI is gone at the defense department and we need the best and brightest whether it’s in Air Traffic Control or our generals.”
The helicopter was piloted by “a fairly experienced crew doing an annual night evaluation” during part of what Hegseth said was an “annual proficiency training flight.”
The crew, wearing night vision goggles, was taking a standard path along the Potomac River corridor.
“We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine if the aircraft was in the corridor and at the right altitude,” he said.
“It’s a horrible loss of life,” Hegseth said. The families of the soldiers on board are currently being notified, and the names and ranks of those involved will be held until that notification is completed.
After the incident, increased security inside the building was stationed at critical points, such as outside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and NORAD.
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.