Layoffs loom at Pentagon-funded think tank after Hegseth slashes weapons-testing office

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

June 6, 2025 / 6:00 PM EDT


Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent personnel cuts in the Pentagon office responsible for weapons testing has halted all work and cleared the way for potential layoffs at the Pentagon-funded think tank that supports it, the Institute for Defense Analyses, or IDA. In a letter obtained by CBS News, the institute's president, retired Air Force Gen. Norton "Norty" Schwartz, told staff he'd received a notice on Monday "terminating all IDA tasks" for the Pentagon's Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation — known inside the Pentagon as DOT&E.

"Leadership is working to assess the full range of implications of these contract actions," Schwartz wrote, adding that the loss of funding "impacts all of IDA." He continued, "With the loss of funding, we cannot sustain our current staffing levels as an organization … All of this is devastating for us as individuals and for the amazing work we have had the privilege to perform for so many years."

Congress established DOT&E in 1983 out of growing concern that the Pentagon lacked a clear and independent view of how its weapons systems performed under real-world conditions. Lawmakers at the time had grown frustrated with the quality of oversight, believing both Congress and the Defense Department were being left in the dark about the true effectiveness of the military's most expensive investments. IDA provides technical expertise and analysis to support the weapons testing office. DOT&E, along with IDA, took up the mantle of testing and evaluating all Pentagon weapon systems. By law, no weapon system can proceed to full production without the office's signoff.

But late last month, Hegseth made deep cuts to the weapons testing office, which has caused a ripple effect at IDA. In his memo, Hegseth called much of the office's work "redundant" and "nonessential" and said it had functions that "do not support operational agility or resource efficiency." The directive made a sweeping reduction to the office's civilian workforce, cutting the civilian employee count from 118 to 30, with and 15 uniformed personnel, and one person in the Senior Executive Service position to lead the office. The memo also ended all contractor support to the office, such as the work done by IDA.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-funded-think-tank-hegseth-slashes-weapons-testing-office/

[Irish_Dem]

1. Now the weapon companies can sell us military weapons that don't work.

Upper class welfare.

[Hugin]

2. I don't even know what to say.

The penguins just got the edge.

[Irish_Dem]

3. We will be like China and Russia. Military corruption is rampant, weapons don't work.

One reason the Russian death count is so high in Ukraine.

[COL Mustard]

4. DOTE could be a PITA to work with

But what they do (or at least what they did) was invaluable for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of our weapons systems. I've seen videos of an Abrams tank that took a hit from an ATGM and the resulting explosion looked catastrophic, but the blowout doors worked exactly as designed, and that crew walked away. Contrast that to the many videos we've seen of Russian tanks, even the T-90, take a hit and the whole turret pops off because they put the ammo under the crew. Fatalities waiting to happen.

One of my former team members got their RIF notice this week from DOTE. It really sucks for this person and all the others who are being kicked to the curb.

[Irish_Dem]

5. They get paid to be a PITA. That is the point of oversight and guidance.

Yes the Russian tanks are a good example.

No oversight in Russia to make sure weapons and equipment actually work and
don't kill soldiers.

Same problem in China. There was a rumor that the Chinese Chinese nuclear warheads don't
actually contain any nuclear material. And that some generals in charge were disappeared, never to be seen again.

Same problem in North Korea, they just launched a state of the art 5000 ton warship and it sank at
launching. Heads will roll on that one too.

Have you heard the Russian joke about a Russian soldier stealing and selling the wheels off of military jeeps? The officer in charge hears about it and comes and beats up the solider. Not because the solider stole the wheels off the jeeps but because the officer didn't get his cut of the profits.

[Mysterian]

7. The "Golden Dome" scam is the next scheme to drain the treasury

The people of the USA will get nothing but billionare war profiteers will get even richer and the national debt will balloon.

[BattleRow]

8. And I thought the Golden Dome was referring to the Presidents hair.

[ananda]

6. Spiraling down to the bottom of the barrel...

led by people dredged from the bottom...

that's our military now.

[Nigrum Cattus]

9. More oversight removal

These failures need to be stopped, now.
Sad that all the repugs think this is OK