WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accused the independent watchdog for the Pentagon of being “weaponized” and says he's overhauling the inspector general’s office, upending the way that service members report abuse and other problems in the ranks.
Hegseth unveiled the plans during a speech at an unusual gathering of hundreds of top military leaders this week. He also signed a memo ordering the inspector general to identify anyone who makes a complaint instead of letting them be anonymous, to dismiss any complaints the inspector general deems “non-credible,” and to set new, tighter timelines for complaints to be filed and investigations to be completed.
Along with a decree stating that the military's policy on “hazing, bullying, and harassment is overly broad,” Hegseth's directives have raised concerns among advocates and experts who say the changes would undo years of progress that have helped protect women and minorities from abuse and would shutter avenues to file legitimate complaints.
It is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to radically reshape the community of inspectors general tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse at government agencies. More than a dozen watchdogs were fired in January amid a larger dismantling of public integrity guardrails since President Donald Trump took office.
The changes are necessary to fix a process that “has been weaponized — putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat,” Hegseth told military leaders Tuesday, without offering evidence.
Hegseth is overhauling the office as he himself is under investigation by the inspector general over his use of the Signal messaging app, where he shared sensitive information about military strikes in a group chat that inadvertently included a journalist. He also shared the information in other chats that included his wife and brother.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters in August that Hegseth had made a statement as part of that investigation — one of the last steps in the process.
Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and a Virginia-based attorney who often represents people who file complaints with the inspector general, questioned the need for Hegseth’s directive.
“This is based upon people that he hangs out with complaining about the process versus any kind of study or data that shows that the IG takes too long or there’s this problem with serial complainers,” Christensen said. He added, “I don’t know of any data that shows there’s a crisis of serial complaints.”
Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer and military justice advocate, said she worries the changes will have a major chilling effect on troops coming forward to report sexual harassment, bullying and racism.
She noted that by eliminating anonymous reporting, Hegseth is planning to shut down a process that has been "proven to bring to light significant issues that affect morale and discipline within units."
“Survey after survey after survey has shown that service members are afraid of their own command chain, and when they’re afraid of their own command chain, problems go on unsolved,” she said.
Despite years of messaging and establishing specialized response teams, the military has continued to struggle with sexual assault and violence toward women.
In a recent case, Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen's dismembered remains were discovered after she had been missing for more than two months from Fort Hood in Texas in 2020. The killing sparked a movement of women speaking out about sexual abuse in the military and led to changes in how they can report it.
An Army investigation later found that, among other issues, there was a climate that tolerated sexual harassment and assault, and that there was a significant lack of confidence in the command chain, and therefore reluctance to report abusive behavior.
In his speech this week, Hegseth seemed to anticipate criticism of his changes and stressed to the assembled military brass that “of course, being a racist has been illegal in our formation since 1948 — the same goes for sexual harassment — both are wrong and illegal.” He said “those kinds of infractions will be ruthlessly enforced.”
While VanLandingham acknowledged Hegseth’s position, she said he is making “changes to systems that have been shown to help reduce sexual harassment and sexual assault” and were created in response to widespread systemic racial and sexual discrimination and harassment.
Hegseth’s memo also pointedly noted that an article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice — the legal code that governs military personnel — prohibits false statements and that violators “will be held appropriately accountable.”
Both Christiansen and VanLandingham said such wording will almost certainly discourage people from reporting concerns and complaints.
“The people who are coming forward are taking a huge risk for their career already, and now he’s making it worse by putting a target on their back,” Christensen said.
VanLandingham added: “That’s not how you instill confidence in a system to be able to report things that absolutely need to be reported."
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.
The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.
On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.
Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”
“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”
“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.
The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.
“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.
Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”
Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.
The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.
A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.
Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”
Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
