As the Senate slouches toward a vote on Pete Hegseth’s nomination as President Donald J. Trump’s secretary of defense, it’s fair to ask: Can this man actually run the Defense Department? Even Hegseth’s critics concede that he is perfectly qualified to preach from the Pentagon’s bully pulpit. He is a congenitally natural communicator. I recall meeting Hegseth in early 2007. By coincidence, it was the day after I first saw him on Fox News. Having served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Iraq, he was on air to discuss his advocacy group, Vets for Freedom. Hegseth was relaxed, composed, poised, and perfectly clear. No stammering, no “uhs,” and — most importantly — no dancing eyes. He was not on set. Rather he broadcast via remote uplink. So, Hegseth looked right into the lens, smiled, turned his head slightly here and there, and otherwise interacted with the camera as if it were a fellow human being. The next afternoon, I attended a Manhattan Institute luncheon. Just my luck: In walked Hegseth! I invited the free-market think tank’s new hire to sit beside me. “So, how long have you been doing TV?” I asked him. Hegseth replied: “That was my first time.” I damn near fell off my chair and fractured my pelvis. I needed several months on MSNBC back in 1996-97 (before it went bonkers) to learn how to stare into a camera and appear to speak with a friend or loved one. That is a very special skill and, at least for me, the toughest television art to master. Hegseth aced this in his first-ever TV interview. This was the broadcast equivalent of a Yankees rookie delivering a lead-off grand slam in his inaugural at-bat. Pete Hegseth is a natural-born communicator with capabilities that seem less learned and more etched onto his DNA. As secretary of defense, this raw talent will serve him well, as he expresses himself in person and electronically with our troops, the Pentagon bureaucracy, congressional leaders, Cabinet colleagues, the White House, the American people, and U.S. friends and foes abroad. But beyond that, how might Hegseth handle this crucial post? For starters, could Hegseth outperform former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin? The man who just vacated the DOD’s top spot had plenty more military know-how than Hegseth: Austin spent 41 years in uniform versus Hegseth’s 14. Austin was a general. Hegseth was a major. A number of current or former servicemen shared their assessment of Hegseth’s DOD management capabilities. “I expect that President Trump can use Mr. Hegseth as the energy to shift the momentum of the Pentagon in ways that suit the president now and for the short future,” Rear Admiral Putnam Browne (US Navy, Retired) told me. The former commander of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln(CVN-72) sees Hegseth more as a battering ram than an occupying force. “Mr. Hegseth will make some hay with the direction some believe that senior military leadership has gone. He will enforce legal direction given by the Commander-in-Chief, and then he will get replaced by someone that can lead lasting change.”  Others are more sanguine about Hegseth’s capacity over the long haul. “Pete is the symbol of everything we want to tell young Americans and their parents about why patriotism and military service are honorable and important and why pursuing selfless service is the best decision young persons could make,” said Lt. Colonel James Carafano (U.S. Army, Retired), a Heritage Foundation national security fellow. “Their families will know that there is a leader in the Pentagon who will dedicate every fiber in his being to caring for our men and women in uniform and their families and ensuring that not a moment of their service and sacrifice is wasted on nonsense. Pete will always put soldiers over politics. We have not seen such courage from senior leaders in the Pentagon over the last few years.” “My first thought was that Pete Hegseth is a combat veteran, ideologically solid, and a warrior for American values,” said Captain Paul Crespo (USMC, Retired), president of the Center for American Defense Studies. “Hegseth also has spent a lot of time thinking about our military and has written books on what ails it and how to fix it.” “I initially questioned whether he has the gravitas and experience to reign in the Pentagon beast,” Crespo added, “but as long as he gets a solid team of deputy, under, and assistant secretaries to implement his and Trump’s policies, he should be fine.” Crespo concluded: “We need a disruptor and transformer at the helm — someone who will eradicate DEI, bring accountability, and ensure our military lethality as we face an imminent major war. Hegseth could be that force.” “I want to express optimism,” one East Coast-based Army Chief Warrant Officer told me. He requested anonymity since he was on active duty. “Pete Hegseth likely has a better understanding of the challenges of the warfighters. He has more experience dealing with junior officers and enlisted personnel. Senior officers tend not to interact regularly or get raw opinions from junior officers and enlisted.” “I would like to see the incoming Secretary of Defense overhaul mandatory training requirements and eliminate initiatives that have nothing to do with improving the warfighters’ lethality,” this source added. He shared with me the “Policy on the Military Service of Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria Training Module,” dated Aug. 10, 2021, and contains a 44-slide Army PowerPoint presentation that explains, among many other things, that “soldier’s request for gender marker change must be supported by: a medical diagnosis indicating that gender transition is medically necessary” and “commanders may employ reasonable accommodations.” Thus, transgenders may “use different urinalysis observers such as medical personnel.” The chief warrant officer noted: “It’s my personal opinion that time spent on stuff like this degrades morale for the majority and detracts from real training.” Based on my discussions, a number of officers sound encouraged that Hegseth and Trump get along and seem to listen to each other. (This is rarely a given.) Some wonder whether Hegseth has the background to steer this major organization. What I heard is that this might not matter, since those with ample tenure remain in control, and improvements are seldom seen. This brings us to just-retired former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Despite more than four decades of military service, Austin served a dog’s breakfast at the Pentagon: Afghanistan Austin was in charge during President Joe Biden’s shambolic retreat from Afghanistan — America’s worst humiliation since the collapse of Saigon in 1975. In August 2021, the U.S. left behind $7.12 billion in weapons and military equipment as a veritable housewarming gift to the resurgent Taliban. Biden and Austin abandoned 60,000 pro-American translators and other Afghans who supported the U.S. mission, according to a December 2021 State Department estimate. Amid this chaos, an ISIS suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest outside Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate. He murdered 13 American GIs and some 170 Afghan civilians. Audits The Pentagon has failed seven consecutive audits, including all four under Austin. As of last November, the Defense Department misplaced $2.5 trillion in assets. To be fair, Austin’s predecessors failed three previous audits during Trump’s first term. But the talented Mr. Austin did no better. Pronouns In September 2023, the Pentagon beclowned itself by announcing that it would use gender-neutral pronouns when granting awards and honors. Thus, as draft verbiage indicated, a soldier might earn a medal after having “distinguished themself by superior meritorious service…” Ridicule erupted, and the Pentagon quietly surrendered. An official video from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center found rainbow-clad engineers Conchy Vasquez and Jony Rozon chatting away about pronouns in June 2021. Vasquez asked about creating “a safe space for everybody.” Rozon suggested, “A really good way to do that is to use inclusive language.” For instance: “Instead of saying something like ‘Hey, guys,’ you can say, ‘Hey, everybody’ or ‘Hey, team.’” Your tax dollars at work! The War on Whitey In February 2021, just weeks into office, Austin ordered all defense personnel to “stand down” and contemplate “extremism.” This exercise devoured 5,359,000 man-hours. Austin launched a Countering Extremism Working Group led by DEI expert Bishop Garrison. According to Influence Watch, “Garrison has called white supremacy the greatest threat to the U.S. military.” In Fiscal Year 2023, Austin requested $34.2 million for “countering extremist activities.” The Pentagon itself reported that it disciplined “fewer than 100” extremists in uniform. “That represents only about 0.005% of the more than 2.1 million active and reserve personnel,” the Heritage Foundation calculated. This demoralizing, idiotic, and fruitless War on Whitey scoured the barracks for white nationalists and other supposed “extremists.” (“Look! There goes another one!”) President Harry S. Truman desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces in 1948. It may be America’s most integrated institution. Austin, a black man, led the Pentagon until noon last Monday. The late Colin Powell chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Commanders of color permeate all services, and those in uniform traditionally have been judged not by their melanin levels, but by their mission-critical accomplishments. And yet Austin & Co. dropped everything to root racism from the ranks, which is either a total non-problem or — at worst — a manageable challenge requiring fine-tuning rather than a coordinated sledgehammer attack. Forcing GIs into racial guilt sessions for whites and victimization brainwashing for minorities yields tension, not teamwork. Teaching soldiers to hate each other over their ethnic differences pulverizes morale and unit cohesion. The Trump/Hegseth policy ought to be: GIs who believe they have endured discrimination should contact the Pentagon’s Office of Civil Rights. Its website, phone number, and e-mail address should be posted prominently in common areas. Those who suffer from bias can seek justice. Everyone else can keep killing bad guys. Recruitment This Woke rubbish seemed to leave potential GIs cold, although things warmed up last year. In 2023, the Army recruited 55,000 new soldiers, missing its goal of 65,000. The Navy fell short by 6,000. The Air Force signed up roughly 24,200, 10 percent under its objective of 26,877. The Coast Guard fell 25 percent below its target. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps enlisted 100 percent of the 28,608 it sought in 2022. And Trump’s new Space Force added 517 star warriors, 10 percent above its aspirations. In 2024, numbers improved — sort of. The Army enrolled 55,000, after cutting its goal to … 55,000. The Navy added 40,600 — 5,000 fewer than its desired 45,600. The Air Force landed 27,100 of the 27,100 on its radar. The Coast Guard got what it wanted: 4,400 personnel. Once again, the Marines secured 28,000 newbies — as planned. Space Force pursued 659 and found 716. Vanishing Act Secretary Austin placed a rancid cherry atop this stale cupcake. From Jan. 1-5, 2024, he violated 5 U.S. Code § 3345, the Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Austin justifiably went away for prostate cancer treatment. But, outrageously, he breathed not a word of this to Biden, then-National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, nor even then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, his designated stand-in. ABC News explained, “No one has told her she’s the top authority at the Pentagon.” NBC News reported: “Deputy learned of defense secretary’s hospitalization 2 days after taking over his duties.” So, could Hegseth outclass Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star general with 27 more years in uniform, and perhaps other Pentagon predecessors? With courage, focus, supernatural communications skills, an entirely new direction, and a stalwart commitment to Trump’s Peace through Strength policy, it’s hard to imagine Pete Hegseth doing worse, and easy to see him doing much, much better as he helps President Trump Make America Safe Again. READ MORE from Deroy Murdock: Apocalypse Now: Behold the Palisades Fire’s Devastating Aftermath Judge’s Ruling Will Help Trump Make the Border Wall Great Again Hegseth’s On-Record Defenders Crush Baseless Drinking Claims by Nameless Sources Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News Contributor. 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