Defense secretaries don’t need military backgrounds to be effective in their roles, as leadership and strategy matter more, says military analyst Sean Bell.
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00:00Sean, the first time round Trump appointed old establishment figures.
00:06His Secretary of Defence was General Mattis.
00:09This time it appears to be a bit more of a radical team.
00:13Pete Hegseth is a former Fox News star.
00:16He never actually achieved a senior rank in the military.
00:20You just mentioned there you were in the military yourself.
00:23Could this have an impact on morale?
00:26And he's giving orders to people who view him as not being as experienced in the military
00:33as they are.
00:36To be brutally honest, I don't think you need a Defence Secretary necessarily with military
00:41expertise.
00:42What they have to be very good at is grand strategy.
00:45They need to be able to cope with ambiguity.
00:48They need to have solid judgment, integrity and secure the trust of the military that
00:54effectively they serve.