Overview

• Hegseth ordered roughly a dozen senior military leaders, including the Navy secretary and key combatant commanders, to withdraw from the forum set to begin July 15 in Aspen, Colorado.
• Pentagon spokespeople described the institute’s globalist stance and liberal-leaning agenda as at odds with the department’s focus on military lethality and nationalist messaging.
• The decision breaks a decades-long tradition of bipartisan DoD engagement at the Aspen Security Forum, which has convened national security figures since 1949.
• Former administration officials such as Jake Sullivan remain on the roster, highlighting the distinction between current Pentagon policy and past defense leadership participation.
• Critics warn the move politicizes civil-military relations and risks narrowing the Pentagon’s public security dialogue.