Six Pentagon insiders have gone public, using untraceable communication methods, to warn that the Department of Defense under Secretary Pete Hegseth is in disarray, calling him the least qualified and most explosive defense secretary in American history. They describe a chaotic, demoralised workplace where Hegseth allegedly fires senior leaders, blocks promotions, pursues personal vendettas and pushes political and religious agendas, while concealing setbacks in the ongoing Iran conflict, which is even less popular within the Pentagon than among the wider American public.

Insiders allege Hegseth is masking depleted weapons stockpiles, damaged US military sites across the Middle East, continued disruption of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and a disabled Saudi oil pipeline, despite publicly claiming success. He has nonetheless deployed roughly 50,000 troops and more than 17 warships to the region through mid-2027, against formal objections from senior naval and command officers warning of dangerously low munitions supplies. The USS Abraham Lincoln has become emblematic of the crisis, having spent 8.5 months at sea beset by food shortages, plumbing failures and morale problems, including multiple thwarted suicide attempts, before docking in Thailand on 2 September. Separately, Republican congressman Thomas Massie has proposed impeaching Hegseth over alleged constitutional violations in his handling of the war, while Hegseth's wife Jennifer has reportedly drawn criticism, nicknamed "Yoko", for attending sensitive military meetings despite holding no official Pentagon role.