Autonomous Warfare Command

Owen West

Pentagon Launches Autonomous Warfare Command For Drones

Defense Secretary (Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth announced a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, nicknamed AutoWarCom, to speed the military’s acquisition of drones and artificial intelligence.

The command is meant to fix the thing everyone agrees is broken: the Pentagon buys autonomy far too slowly to keep pace with the fight.

The next war will be fought partly by machines, and the side that fields them fastest (and cheapest) wins. A dedicated command with its own authorities is Washington’s bet that the problem isn’t money or ideas, but a procurement system that cannot move at the speed of the technology.

The command is new and four-star. Hegseth said AutoWarCom will have “service-like authorities” to buy and field autonomous systems, with a four-star commander still to be named.

It stands up for over a year. An interim effort called Project Agincourt will run for roughly a year, with the formal command targeted for around October 2027.

The run-up has two leaders. Agincourt is led by Defense Innovation Unit director Owen West on strategy and resources, paired with Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser on operational problem-solving. Senior Chief Strasiser is specifically responsible for operational problem-solving and integrating drone technology into the practical realities of frontline combat

China can turn out drones by the millions a year while American output is measured in the tens of thousands, and a single Chinese firm, DJI, holds roughly 70 percent of the world commercial drone market. The money fight, as above, is a Republican-on-Republican argument about whether to fund autonomy honestly in the base budget or through reconciliation, and the honest path is the one conservatives should back.

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Hegseth restoring physical Readiness among Troops

Pentagon sets weight and grooming standards for troops attending Hegseth's upcoming address

Hegseth tells Troops to get in shape

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office is requiring service members to pass waist-to-height and grooming checks before they can attend his "State of the Force" address later this month, a move that underscores his push to restore physical readiness across the ranks.

Internal Pentagon emails sent to Army commanders lay out a strict set of criteria for selecting which troops get a seat at the event. Candidates must meet waist-to-height requirements, maintain what the emails call "impeccable grooming and uniform standards (no exception)," and carry a "clear record of integrity, discipline and selfless service," The Hill reported, citing a Wall Street Journal investigation that first surfaced the emails.

The standards go beyond appearance. Commanders picking audience members, drawn from lower-ranking officers and enlisted personnel, must also verify that each candidate is "consistently rated as top performers within their formations" and can "demonstrate strong presence, clear communication and sound judgment under pressure." Selected troops, the emails add, should "serve as role models for their peers and subordinates."

Those who make the cut will also get a chance to work out alongside the Defense secretary, a privilege the Pentagon tied to "demonstrated leadership quality and professional character."

A military that asks its troops to be fit, disciplined, and well-groomed before they sit in the same room as the Defense secretary should not be controversial, it should be the bare minimum.

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Modern Warfare - Drones

Pentagon Pours Billions Into Drones

The Pentagon’s next budget bets heavily on drones, with tens of billions aimed at building an autonomous force. The push is the right lesson from modern war, and the open question is whether the Pentagon can buy fast enough to matter.

The fiscal 2027 request devotes about $54 billion to drone development, a central piece of what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls a drive for “UAS domain dominance” by 2027.

It sits inside a $1.15 trillion base defense request, among the largest in modern history, that the Senate Armed Services Committee backed when it marked up its version of the policy bill in June.

The same threat runs both ways. Every dollar spent fielding drones has to be matched by dollars to shoot down the enemy’s, and counter-drone defense is the less glamorous, equally urgent side of the same line item.

Why drones. Ukraine settled the argument. Cheap uncrewed systems have destroyed tanks, ships, and aircraft worth orders of magnitude more, and mass and attrition now beat exquisite platforms in the fights the US is most likely to face.

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Attack Update

U.S. forces have hit over 1,700 targets in Iran

including 300 new sites — while adding B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bombers to the air attack, U.S. Central Command reported Tuesday morning.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that the attacks could last for at least several weeks, and no end date was currently in the plans. Additional aircraft, weapons and troops were being sent to the conflict.

The Pentagon has confirmed that six Americans have been killed.

The attack update from U.S. Central Command showed that B-1 Lancers and B-52 Stratofortress bombers had taken part in attacks, joining previous missions flown by B-2 Spirits. The B-2 missions were flown on 37-hour round-trip missions from bases in the United States and used aerial refueling.

The B-1 is a supersonic bomber that specializes in low-altitude attacks. The B-52s are four-engine heavy bombers that were built in the 1960s. They primarily use “stand-off” weapons that can be launched from a distance beyond anti-aircraft fire.

The U.S. is using F-15E Strike Eagle II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters; A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack; and EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft, Central Command said.

Targets have included command and control, headquarters, air defense sites, ballistic missile sites, anti-ship missile sites and communications centers. U.S. officials have said eight Iranian ships have been sunk.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran on Monday that the U.S. planned to ratchet up the attacks. “The hardest hits are yet to come,” he said.

Mike Huckabee on Mark Kelly

Ah Oh

FACING CONSEQUENCES

"In November, six Democrat Congress members who are military veterans released a video urging active-duty troops to refuse to obey “illegal orders” – although when pressed, they couldn’t specify any orders President Trump has given that are illegal.

Trump called it traitorous, and other critics said they were trying to encourage troops to refuse to obey orders for political reasons.

One of them is now learning that there are consequences for such actions. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that Sen. Mark Kelly is facing a “retirement grade determination” for his “seditious statements” and “pattern of reckless misconduct.”

If approved, Kelly could see both his rank and retirement pay reduced. The reason he’s the only one facing this is that the others left the service completely while he retired with a military pension, meaning he’s still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which bars things such as calling lawful orders illegal and counseling troops to disobey orders.

Hegseth said that being a Senator does not exempt Kelly from accountability. We have to assume that he’s been in Congress so long that he simply forgot he once had a job where he was held accountable."

Mike Huckabee

Google gets back in the war business after years of employee revolts

Pete Hegseth Just Handed Google a Massive Pentagon AI Contract That’ll Make China Squirm

Google spent years running from Pentagon contracts after woke employees threw tantrums about helping America's military.

Now the company just landed one of the biggest defense AI deals in history.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the launch of GenAI.mil, giving more than 3 million U.S. military personnel access to Google's Gemini artificial intelligence platform.

"The future of American warfare is here, and it's spelled AI," Hegseth said. "As technologies advance, so do our adversaries. But here at the War Department, we are not sitting idly by."

The platform lets troops conduct deep research, analyze video footage, and process battlefield intelligence at unprecedented speed.

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It's no laughing matter

Mark Kelly’s Wife BURSTS OUT LAUGHING as Pete Hegseth Announces Federal Investigation Into Her Husband

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) revealed on Friday that his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, “laughed and laughed” when she heard Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had ordered an investigation into Kelly for potentially unlawful conduct under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The Pentagon announcement came after Kelly and five other far-left lawmakers, each with military or intelligence backgrounds, released a shocking video calling for U.S. troops to defy President Trump’s orders.

The group repeatedly told service members: “You can refuse illegal orders” and “You must refuse illegal orders.”

The Department of War responded, confirming it is now considering recalling Senator Kelly to active duty for court-martial proceedings.

Hegseth might get the last laugh

Fitness, Grooming, and Training Standards

Hegseth’s Outstanding Address to Military Leaders

The president and the secretary of war spoke of their efforts to strengthen the forces, tighten standards, and cut ‘woke’ programs in the military.

About 730 U.S. military generals, admirals, and senior enlisted troops attended a historic gathering at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Sept. 30 to hear President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth convey a shift in military culture under Trump’s leadership.

Throughout their remarks, Trump and Hegseth emphasized a desire to do away with the “woke” social and cultural trends of recent years, criticized the direction of the military under previous leaders, and invited those in attendance who disagreed to make their objections known and resign.

Read the key points

Hegseth said: “The new War Department golden rule is this: Do unto your unit as you would have done unto your own child’s unit...No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction, or gender delusions. No more debris.”