Efforts to shape up the Department of War reportedly include a memo regarding staff “debris” as managers were given the directive to “act with speed and conviction.”
In late September, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addressed military officials at Quantico and outlined physical fitness and grooming standards impacting all ranks. The same day, just before the Democrat government shutdown had gifted President Donald Trump a clearer path to remove thousands of federal workers, a Pentagon memo gave a green light to start terminating the employment of the underperforming.
The September 30 memo titled “Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance” was reported by the Washington Post, and in it, Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata instructed managers that they would be held accountable for how they address “poor employee performance.”
“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction to facilitate the separation from Federal services of employees performing unsuccessfully,” stated the memo.
“Looks like we are all ‘at will’ employees now,” expressed one anonymous civilian employee to the newspaper which sought a statement from the Pentagon that earned the response, “The Department is in the process of adapting to the new guidance outlined in Under Secretary of War Tata’s memo from September 30th and we have nothing specific to share at this time.”
The Post’s report comes as Hegseth maintains expected standards while traveling abroad, as a notice on his trip to Camp Humphreys in South Korea specified, “Members with shaving waivers are NOT authorized to attend.”
No Beardos: ‘Members with shaving waivers are NOT authorized to attend’ Hegseth event, report https://t.co/UktXqJJ5ws via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) October 28, 2025
During the September speech, where the secretary laid out sweeping standards, he also emphasized the importance of removing “debris” from the workforce and expressed, “The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy.”
While judicial activism seeks to obstruct the Trump administration from its ability to manage the executive branch, blocking the terminations of furloughed employees, the Pentagon memo promoted the use of federal job evaluation criteria known as the Douglas Factors in addressing any underperforming employees.
“Every DoW position supports the mission, so deficiencies in any role can warrant strong action,” stated the memo, as the factors allow managers “flexibility to address performance issues swiftly and effectively.”
“This approach empowers supervisors to act decisively when performance undermines DoW’s objectives, reinforcing a culture of excellence. Supervisors are to use the Douglas Factors in consideration of their action,” the memo detailed.
Among those bristling at the clearance for slashing the workforce, further fulfilling the president’s promise to cut waste in the federal government, Sean Timmons, a managing partner at the law firm Tully Rinckey, told the Post, “They are gutting federal employee protection significantly.”
“They’re trying to use any excuse they can to get rid of people who are not with the program,” added the attorney specializing in federal employment and military law.
By contrast, an official with the department welcomed the capacity to remove poor-performing employees. That official expressed how previously, the recourse would have been “just stick them in the corner” as “they’d file an [Inspector General] complaint on you.”
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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