TPUSA Frontlines White House Correspondent Monica Paige interviewed Senior Advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Eric Geressy, discussing the department’s new warrior-minded ethos. 

According to his profile on the Department of War’s website, “Mr. Geressy served overseas 11 years out of his 26 years of military service. This included three Combat Deployments totaling 38 months of combat in Iraq spanning from 2003-2009. He served with the 3rd Brigade 101st Airborne Division during the Initial Invasion, in Al Hillah, Baghdad, Sinjar, and Mosul. His last combat deployment was in East Rashid, Baghdad during the Surge with the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.” 

During the Wednesday interview, Paige asked Geressy about the restoration of warrior ethos throughout the Pentagon and the concerns that brought it forth. 

“Over the last decade,” Geressy said, “the military started getting put on a lot of non-war fighting tasks. To me a lot of it turned into a complete burden where the small unit leaders are focused on things that have nothing to do to prepare them for their unit and mission.” 

“We’ve pushed to all the service members,” he further said, “if you’re not focused on war fighting tasks, your unit, wartime mission, there’s nothing else you should be focused on other than that.  And if it doesn’t support that then you need to get rid of it.” 

Geressy also addressed critics–who may take issue of cuts to prior diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives–of the new ethos being established throughout the department.

“I don’t see how you can be upset about us raising standards. I don’t know how you can be against service members being in better physical condition. I don’t know how you could be against ‘we want these service members to be experts in whatever their career field is,” he said. 

Geressy noted that Secretary Hegseth is preparing troops for wartime operations by putting the best people in the proper places, deeming it a high responsibility for the department’s leadership and something that service members are owed for their own welfare.