Hegseth Cuts Staff at Pentagon’s Independent Test Office (2)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered staff cuts at the congressionally mandated Pentagon office that oversees tests of major weapons systems, to ensure they’re effective and maintainable, before billions of dollars are spent on them.

Hegseth framed the decision to scale back the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation as a cost-cutting move that would save $300 million each year. An internal review identified redundant and nonessential functions that affect the department’s “ability to rapidly and effectively deploy the best systems to the warfighter,” he said in a memo on Wednesday.

The office will be reduced to 30 ...