Why Pentagon Is Hiring Retired Military Influencers For Civilian Roles

The US Department of Defense has hired multiple retired military officers with large followings on social media for civilian roles at the Pentagon.

The former officers have publicly backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his policies. They have also criticised people who questioned the Trump administration, according to a Washington Post report.

Among those reportedly hired are retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness and retired Army Colonel Kurt Schlichter. Pentagon records show that both had official government email addresses and were assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

Their email addresses have the “.civ” designation, which means they are listed as civilian employees rather than military personnel or contractors.

Another retired Army colonel and social media influencer, Thomas Anderson, was also listed earlier this year as a civilian employee in Tata's office. His name, however, was no longer listed in Pentagon records late last week.

All three men have large followings on the social media platform X. 

Maness has more than 135,000 followers, Schlichter has nearly 620,000, while Anderson has more than 323,000. Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez declined to comment on their assignments or how long they have been working there.

The report states that the men are working either as “special government employees” or “highly qualified experts”. These positions can allow people to work for the government for a limited period and can be either full-time or part-time, depending on the appointment.

Under the rule mentioned in the report, an SGE can work for the government for no more than 130 days in any 365-day period.

The reported appointments come as Hegseth's team has stepped up its focus on what it calls “woke” or ideological thinking in the US military. Maness, Schlichter and Anderson were also part of the Pentagon's Senior Service College Task Force, which visited the Army War College in Pennsylvania in May.

The task force was created to examine what Hegseth has described as “toxic” or “woke” ideology at senior military colleges.

During their visit, the three men met students and professors and asked questions about military leadership and courses. Some students were reportedly unsure about how openly they could speak, fearing that their answers could have consequences if they upset administration officials.

This issue has come to light because some of the influencers continued posting political views on social media without publicly disclosing their government positions.

In July, conservative influencer Jennica Pounds said she had become a special government employee at the Defense Department. She had earlier worked as a journalist in Hegseth's new Pentagon press corps.

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger criticised the practice on social media. He questioned whether taxpayers were effectively paying social media influencers to promote partisan political messages. The Pentagon has also hired conservative journalist Jerry Dunleavy to help Hegseth's team review the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan.