Hegseth Speaks at Inaugural Gold Star Advisory Council Meeting

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today chaired the first-ever meeting of the War Department's Gold Star Advisory Council, during which he vowed to improve the Pentagon's overall process for interacting with Gold Star families, including the department's Casualty Assistance Program.

Gold Star family members are the surviving relatives of U.S. service members who died in the line of duty.

Hegseth established the council - which is tasked with honoring the memories of fallen service members and ensuring their family members are never forgotten or left behind - in May with the signing of a memo.

"For far too long - especially in our generation - there was just a big gap between what 'right' looks like and what reality was. Whether it's husbands or wives or fathers or mothers, the whole casualty assistance and Gold Star process was broken," Hegseth said, adding that Gold Star families should be welcomed into the arms of a grateful nation, rather than running into bureaucracy or being unable to get the answers they need.

"Our charge here is that there's a lot of things that are broken [and] a lot of things that need to change … We may not have broken them, but we're in charge now and we're going to fix them, and we're going to do everything we can," Hegseth said.

The Gold Star Advisory Council will seek to elevate the voices of Gold Star family members directly to War Department leadership to "tackle real concerns and transform the casualty process for good," Hegseth told the media earlier in the day, adding that the council has his "full backing to call out the failures, shake up the bureaucratic status quo and drive the changes that will stick."

Co-vice chairs of the council include Anthony Tata, undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness, and Gold Star wife Jane Horton, who also serves as a senior advisor to Hegseth.

"As much as I can humanly understand - and I know I can't understand everything that each of you have been through - I know the responsibility I have … to make sure we get this right … and to make sure that we take care of all of you and everyone that you represent," Tata told the Gold Star family members in attendance.

"And you have my commitment in that regard," he added.

Horton told the Gold Star family members in attendance that it was an honor to serve them and to represent their fallen service members. She also said she has confidence in Hegseth's commitment to the council.

"I know that [Hegseth] means it when he says that we're going to get things done and that there's going to be action behind these words," Horton said.

During the meeting, Hegseth was sure to credit past efforts made by those who worked in the War Department's Gold Star program, stating that it wasn't for a lack of caring that the program had deficiencies.

"It was just not enough concentration on forging that solution that really works and really shows the humanity to a process that is ultimately a human process," Hegseth said.

"Hopefully we can aggregate all of that [previous hard work] with the authority of the secretary's office and drive some of that change that maybe just couldn't get done because it wasn't happening at this level," he added.