Pentagon to restructure weapons testing office, cut personnel as part of Hegseth-directed shakeup

The Pentagon’s key hub for testing new weapons and technologies to ensure they are safe and reliable to deploy in real-world combat environments is set for a major internal reorganization that will involve fresh cuts to the current workforce.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spotlighted these and other related plans — all associated with the ongoing, disruptive campaign to eliminate what the Trump administration views as wasteful and duplicative spending across the federal government — in a brief video posted online Wednesday. 

He said this move to restructure the Defense Department’s Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (ODOT&E) is envisioned to promote more efficiency so “that warfighters get what they need faster.”

According to a memorandum Hegseth penned Tuesday to senior Pentagon leadership unveiling the forthcoming reorg, the decision was informed by results from “a comprehensive internal review” that identified “redundant, nonessential, non-statutory functions within” the long-standing office, which are impacting the military’s ability to quickly access cutting-edge systems.

In the memo, the secretary first directs ODOT&E to “immediately eliminate” any non-statutory or redundant functions.

“Second, and as recommended by an internal study, ODOT&E will deliver its core statutory function through a reduced staff of 30 civilian positions, with no more than one Senior Executive Service (SES) member and 15 assigned military personnel. ODOT&E will be reduced to this size through a targeted, deliberate, and expeditious civilian reduction-in-force (RIF),” Hegseth wrote.

The office’s total workforce numbers ahead of these planned cuts are not specified in the document. 

A defense official told DefenseScoop that DOT&E had 94 personnel prior to the reorganization decision — 82 civilians and 12 military.

All civilian personnel who are not going to be retained in one of the office’s 30 positions that are kept will receive a specific notice within seven days of the publication of the memo.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell noted Wednesday in an email to reporters that civilian personnel employed by military departments at ODOT&E will be transferred back to their service organizations, while other civilians will receive the RIF notices.

“This decision eliminates redundancy in the defense acquisition system, returns DOT&E to its statutory intent as an oversight body, and empowers the Services and Combatant Commands with greater trust to ensure the warfighter is efficiently equipped to address emerging challenges and to preserve our decisive advantage,” Parnell said.

The new test and evaluation guidance also calls on the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment to require “cognizant contracting officers to end all contractor personnel support supplying contracted employees” to the office, no later than seven days after the memo’s release. 

Hegseth appointed Carroll Quade — the official currently serving as the Department of the Navy’s deputy for test and evaluation — to perform the duties of the director of ODOT&E and oversee this transition.

“These actions will save more than $300 million per year and reflect the department’s commitment to continued reform and reducing bureaucracy,” Hegseth wrote.

Following the memo’s release, one former senior defense official who spoke to DefenseScoop on the condition of anonymity raised concerns about what they view as multiple open questions that stem from the new T&E instructions. 

They noted that the memo does not clarify who conducted the Pentagon’s study — or explain why officials opted to retain exactly 30 personnel and how they landed on the estimate of $300 million in potential savings.

They also called into question how these reductions might impact the DOD’s ability to test and field in-demand AI and autonomous capabilities.

“And in addition to the risks of the services taking T&E shortcuts, there’s the other risk of this slowing down ongoing and future programs. It’s not quite as bad as skipping critical testing, but not far behind either,” the former senior defense official told DefenseScoop.