Hegseth orders ‘disestablishing’ of Office of Net Assessment
A March 13 memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders all employees of the Office of Net Assessment reassigned to different roles and cancels related contracts.
Seal of the Pentagon on display at the Pentagon visitor center. (Photo by Trevor Raney
Digital Media Division)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the “disestablishing” of the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, a key office responsible for high-level strategic analysis, according to a memo obtained by Breaking Defense.
The memo, dated March 13 and signed by Hegseth, directs the Pentagon’s Performance Improvement Officer and Director of Administration and Management to reassign all civilian employees to other “mission critical positions” inside the department, while military personnel will return to their service to receive new billets.
Simultaneously, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official is directed to “ensure that the necessary steps are taken” by department contracting authorities to terminate “all ONA contracts awarded for ONA and ONA-related requirements.” A number of DC think tanks and research organizations will likely be impacted by these cancelled contracts.
However, it appears ONA will live on in some manner: the memo directs the deputy secretary of defense to provide a plan in 30 days to rebuild the office in a manner “consistent with [Hegseth’s] priorities.”
The Pentagon did not directly return a request for comment. At roughly the time this story was published, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell sent out a public statement that said “This decision ensures that our resources are focused on the most pressing national security challenges while maintaining accountability and efficiency.”
Founded in 1973, the Office of Net Assessment is sometimes referred to as the Pentagon’s internal think tank due to its role providing classified, long-term strategic-level studies on threats, trends, risks and opportunities that could shape the geopolitical environment 20 to 30 years in the future.
Jim Baker, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, took over ONA in 2015 following the retirement of Andrew Marshall, its founding director who was often referred to as the “Pentagon’s Yoda.” The Washington Post reported in 2015 that Baker’s appointment reflected then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s interest in receiving assessments related to near-term threats as well as the long-term studies the office was known for.
On Feb. 7, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa), sent a letter to Hegseth questioning whether the office’s purpose was still necessary and asking for information related to ONA’s production net assessments since 2007 and the last decade of contracts.
“I remain concerned that ONA is not performing its mission for the taxpayer and has engaged in financial waste,” he wrote.
