Sean Bell: Defense secretaries need no military experience

AlArabiya English

Defense secretaries don’t need military backgrounds to be effective in their roles, as leadership and strategy matter more, says military analyst Sean Bell.

Transcript

00:00Sean, the first time round Trump appointed old establishment figures.

00:06His Secretary of Defence was General Mattis.

00:09This time it appears to be a bit more of a radical team.

00:13Pete Hegseth is a former Fox News star.

00:16He never actually achieved a senior rank in the military.

00:20You just mentioned there you were in the military yourself.

00:23Could this have an impact on morale?

00:26And he's giving orders to people who view him as not being as experienced in the military

00:33as they are.

00:36To be brutally honest, I don't think you need a Defence Secretary necessarily with military

00:41expertise.

00:42What they have to be very good at is grand strategy.

00:45They need to be able to cope with ambiguity.

00:48They need to have solid judgment, integrity and secure the trust of the military that

00:54effectively they serve.

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