Stuart Scheller

Father. American. Aspiring Farmer. Pentagon Grinder.

[JD Vance @JDVance]

Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd and the answer is: obviously not.

Like so much of Congress, impeachment has become a ridiculous show that stands in for actual policymaking. Congress has so many tools for registering its policy disagreements. Rather than use them, they're going to try to impeach Pete Hegseth. They did the same to Donald Trump. Legislation is hard. Impeachments are easy (and ultimately, inconsequential).

The irony is that legislators are most angry at Pete on the issues where he's most correct: repositioning forces away from Europe/Ukraine and reorganizing the general officer corps.

This isn't about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon.

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

I was honored to watch the speech today. I look forward to meeting with the Naval War College President tomorrow morning. Couple of other direct quotes from SecWar today:

"The primary task of our Senior Service Colleges cannot be the passive transmission of credentials. It cannot be the curation of an insulated salon for intellectual leisure. It must be teaching victory."

"Strategy divorced from operational reality is nothing more than academic daydreaming. Wars are not won at the strategic level in the abstract; strategy succeeds or fails at the point where operational art and tactical lethality meet the adversary."

"At my direction - effective immediately - there will be no more eighty-page theoretical written thesis as the primary capstone of war college achievement. In its place, we are establishing competitive, SI-assisted wargaming and high-stress decision forcing scenarios as the centerpiece of senior officer evaluation."

"We will create a permanent, inter-college wargaming architecture across all senior service colleges. No longer will jointness be reduced to an Army Colonel and a Navy Captain sharing coffee in the same seminar room. True jointness is forged under competitive operational friction. Our service colleges will execute interconnected capstone wargames, linking live, virtual, and constructive forces across domains, testing students against complex, unscripted peer adversary maneuvers. Furthermore, these wargames will feed directly into the newly established Joint Warfighter Exercises."

"The Senior Service Colleges will serve as the modern proving ground. Through intensive wargaming, combined with rigorous, adversarial oral defense boards that eliminate the ability to hide behind academic ghostwriters or generative SI, we will stress-test every prospective general and flag officer. Promotion to senior rank will not be an administrative reward for longevity; it will be earned by demonstrating the intellectual agility, lethal operational competence, and moral resolve required to win in combat."

[Under Secretary of War Anthony J. Tata @USW_PR_HONTata]

Important remarks today by @SecWar at the @NavalWarCollege.

Team effort on the task force led by Dr Lin Todd, ASW (Readiness). Hard part starts now as we rapidly implement the 33 directives. Dr Todd (St Andrews PhD, SAMS grad, Georgetown Master of Science, Marshall Center Program Director, Chinook Pilot in Command, USMA top 5%) will be driving this change through every institution.

As SW quoted Elijah Root at Army War College founding: “Not to promote war but to preserve peace … and repel aggression.”

“Simply put that is Peace through Strength.”

https://t.co/o04jlBXuYg

[Secretary of War Pete Hegseth @SecWar]

At the War Department:
We Stand.
We Fight.
We Defend the Republic.

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

@BertyAlbrecht Thanks dog. Read this after last of sip of coffee before out the door. Now I'm gonna crush the day ✊🇺🇸

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

Behind me is the Eisenhower Executive Building. It’s an inspiring building, that I don’t always appreciate, since I’m typically running up winding marble staircases circa 1800s trying to make it to a meeting on time. I know there are elevators in the building, but they are the path less taken.

I digress. I tried writing this piece about Eisenhower, merit, and the Republican Party… but it didn’t come together. Spending the day in the Pentagon, going on a run, debating with my kids about fantasy football, running to the dry cleaner, dealing with a late-night work call, and then trying to be creative at the end of the night was challenging. It’s an honor and a privilege to work in the government, but it’s a lot of work. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to assign myself a one page post each night this week. Ironically long posts don’t even do well. Social media is designed around two sentences of rage bait.

What I will say, is that when I first took this job, most people wrote things in the comments about me burning out within six months. They didn’t realize was how committed I was to the goals hanging on my apartment wall: bring accountability for Afghanistan, build a merit based culture in the military, and support the President and SecWar initiatives. I, we, will accomplish all of those. No matter what happens in this election.

That being said, it’s easy to forget how far we drifted in the last administration. I haven’t forgotten.

Good luck to all the Republican candidates this election cycle. I believe being a conservative isn’t a demographic. It’s a decision to fight for the country that still rewards hard work and personal responsibility. I’m filled with hope that we can continue creating an American culture that incentivizes the same thing. RAH

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

This is a picture of Byron Donalds and his wife Erika Donalds. In truth, I don’t have many pictures with people I meet who I respect. I’m always too embarrassed (or trying to act like I’ve been there) to ask for a picture. But the Donalds couple, who I’ve met both separately, is special because they are fighters and change agents. I felt it was important to highlight their importance to the conservative movement over the last ten years.

I’ll start with my connection to Congressman Donalds. I’ll drop in the comments a video of Congressman Donalds testifying at the House Oversight Committee while I was in the brig about the disaster of the Afghan withdrawal. He was a politician, who didn’t know me at all, and was willing to jump into the arena and fight back. Obviously, that caught my attention, and I followed his career after that. I was able to thank him personally during a State of the Union Address I attended.

Did you know that Byron Donalds, when he joined Congress, was denied from being a member of the Congressional Black Caucus? Of note, all members of that Caucus are Democrats, and when the other members saw that Byron had a conservative record, and supported President Trump, he was not allowed to join.

Did you also know that when Congressman Donalds wins the Governor race in Florida, he will become the first black Governor in Florida? Not that it matters for conservatives, who truly believe that a man or woman should be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. And for me, Byron’s character is that of a fighter who we so desperately need in the conservative movement.

Understanding that Congressman Donalds has excelled as a leader and fighter, it’s probably not surprising that his wife is just as impressive. I met Erika Donalds this year for the first time. I met her at a Pentagon satellite location where she was brought in to advise the Department of War on developing classical education into the Department of War Education School System. What made her an expert on education? While raising her three sons, she saw the difference in a classical education with one son compared to the other, and had a moment where she realized school choice, classical education, and education reform desperately needed growth. And rather than wait for someone else to do it, she literally built an in person and online classical school system across Florida and then across the United States. Literally amazing.

This power couple has worked for everything they’ve built. They are a beacon for capitalism and hard work. Congressman Donalds has been vocal from day one on his fight against socialism. He has never wavered in his America First beliefs, his support of the President, and most importantly, his support to Americans like US. We need more people like the Donalds.

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

This is a picture of me and DJT Jr. This encounter happened at Shot Show in 2025 right before I started my current job. During the convention, I received an invitation to DJT Jr’s suite in the Vegas Trump Tower with a room full of successful personalities. The invitation was on a shell casing which I thought was super cool and appropriate for shot show. I’m so lame I kept the shell casing.

I was nervous to meet him face to face and have a conversation. Let me explain why…

When I called out military leadership over the fall of Afghanistan, I thought getting accountability for military failures was an apolitical issue that we could all agree upon. But like anything today, the media can turn anything into a hyper political issue.

DJT Jr did a video in support of me. He posted it and then reposted it. He singularly brought more attention to my struggle than anyone else. But at that time, I didn’t know him or anything about him.

As my situation with the Marine Corps escalated back in the fall of 2021, the weekend before I went to solitary confinement, I violated my gag order by lashing out at every public figure I could think of not serving in the chain of command. Of note, while actively serving in the Marine Corps, I never criticized the sitting President or sitting members of the administration. But I did lash out at senior military personalities, and every past President for what that moment was for me: the clear example of the government failing to perform for the citizens. And in my pain, I even told DJT Jr to stop posting about me.

Soooo, you can imagine how uncomfortable I was approaching him. I half expected to be thrown out of the suite by all the UFC fighters standing around. After a quick introduction, I started by apologizing, but he could sense my anxiety, cut me off and told me not to worry about it. So, I stressed how thankful I was for his support, and he laughed and said, “I never know if I’m helping or hurting.” His demeanor was relaxed, kind, and balanced with an awareness of a reality that I was just learning. He then gave me advice on working as a political in the government and the opposition I would face from the bureaucracy.

I am the perfect example of someone the entire Trump family could have written off. Worse, they could have piled on when I was at my lowest, and I would have deserved it. But they used temperance, offered me grace, and helped me see the threats America faces against liberals, progressives, and socialists. We should follow their lead and focus on building a coalition of warriors.

There will be a theme as I go through my posts leading up to the midterms; we need strong leaders who will fight for conservative values even when it is unpopular. DJT Jr, and his siblings, have been at the forefront of this fight for the last two decades.

[Sean Parnell @SeanParnellASW]

President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had the conviction to call us the Department of War and say it plainly: America’s military exists to deter war through strength and, if necessary, fight and win.

The President has acted. Now Congress must finish the job and enshrine the Department of War name in law.

https://t.co/AOBNfEcIzk

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

This is a picture of me and Vivek Ramaswamy. We took this picture together at Mar Largo after his Presidential run but before his Ohio Governor run.

I, like Vivek and Vice President Vance, am from Cincinnati, Ohio. My youngest brother is still a pastor at a church in Cincinnati. I went to Anderson High School and the University of Cincinnati. While I went to UC, I lived in Clifton (the area around UC). The downtown bars were only 15 minutes away from Clifton, but to get to them, you had to travel through very poor neighborhoods (this was before Uber). As college students, we knew bad things would happen if we wandered in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was known.

That’s what happened in July of 2025 when a single white mother of a special needs child, known in the media only as Holly, wandered onto Elm Street in downtown Cincy after leaving a birthday party. She walked into a part of the city that has always been a problem and was beat within an inch of her life – severe brain injury and facial fractures. As she recovered in the hospital, no city officials spoke or reached out to her because this behavior has been normalized there.

Of note, Cincinnati has self-described as a “sanctuary city” since 2017 when the city council passed a measure to adopt the name in defiance of Trump’s first Presidency. This phrase has been repeated by other leaders including the previous Mayor. When President Trump in 2025 came back into office and initially placed Cincinnati on a list of sanctuary cities, Vice Mayor Kearney issued a statement saying, “We stand in support of our immigrant community and all residents of Cincinnati. We are not obligated to use our local resources for federal initiatives.”

Sanctuary City is essentially a declaration that local leadership will be soft on crime and inconsistent on the enforcement of federal laws – specifically in connection with illegal immigration. This is an accepted policy of Democrats tolerated by soft Republican leadership (the ones who feel obligated to appease liberals).

Vivek was the only person with enough leadership to initially confront the assault on Holly in Ohio. I was proud of him, and asked myself if I would have been brave enough to confront the assault, competing world views, and racism. He held town halls with HOSTILE crowds, spoke about the need for law and order, and visited Holly in the hospital. His attention forced the Cincinnati police and mayor to do their job. It was the first time I remembered a leader in Cincy attacking the hard issue. Imagine what he could do if he was the Governor.

Vivek is a fighter. He will walk into hostile crowds and be the leader we need for the common sense conservative movement. Vote Republican.

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

RT @Lucky7_BLB: I know @stuartscheller personally. He is a man of character.

He gave up his military career and his retirement to expose…

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

Heading into the midterms, I plan to drop a post a day up to the election offering my perspective on the MAGA movement. Subsequent posts will have pictures and personal stories with Republican party leadership and myself. But this initial post will set the tone.

What is a conservative: Someone who believes in less government programs, regulation, and handouts; strong military/police, the Constitution, and one nation under God.

What is a Republican: Someone who supports the Republican party believing it will lead to conservative policies.

What is MAGA: Someone who believes liberals, progressives, and socialists seek to replace conservatives and their way of life. Someone who believes the establishment needs aggressive reform; a belief that we must fight, fight, fight!

We believe Hillary Clinton when she spoke for the liberal movement last year and said, “White men, of a certain persuasion, a certain religion, a certain point of view, a certain ideology, is just doing such damage to what we should be aiming for.”

She is talking about me. She is talking about US. They are threatened by a vision of America led by strong MEN.

When I was in the Marine Corps, I truly was an independent. Apolitical. But at a certain point, when you look around America and find yourself surrounded, you either make compromises… or fight back.

President Trump epitomizes that fight; No other mortal human would still be standing after the barrage of attacks on reputation, finances, family, and life. That hate would have destroyed me. But he’s still standing, the ultimate champion. A generational leader.

Secretary Hegseth is the target of the establishment’s scorn, because he epitomizes the biggest threat – which above else – is strong men of a certain persuasion.

I am blessed to serve under the President and the Secretary of War for two more years. There is still so much work to be done under their leadership. But beyond the next two years, I believe their leadership will carry on. They are showing us how to fight progressive liberalism for a generation.

Screenshot this: I want to be clear who I am… a warrior. A strong man who will fight for conservative values until the left takes power and puts me back in jail. Vote Republican.

[InfantryDort @infantrydort]

THE FILE IS NOT THE FIGHT

I read this article carefully about the Joint Warfighter Evaluation, and I actually think the author is arguing in good faith. So I’ll return the salvo in kind. Mostly.

His central mistake is assuming the current system has already identified most of the right people, and JWE is simply another instrument to refine the cut. I mostly disagree. The current system absolutely identifies talent. It identifies people who are very good at succeeding inside the current system. They understand the gates, the timing, the tribes, the assignments, the patrons, and the wickets required to survive decades of institutional judgment. That takes ability, sure. It just does not prove you can actually fight.

The author actually describes the problem himself when he writes that “timing and tribes” can determine who becomes a general and then concludes there is “nothing inherently wrong” with that. There is. Every tribe eventually starts breeding in its own image. If the men choosing the next generation value the same assumptions that made them successful, the institution becomes a hall of mirrors. Everyone looks impressive because everyone looks familiar.

JWE puts a bit of a window in the room.

The Louisiana Maneuvers point is where I disagree most. The author argues Marshall faced a fundamentally different problem because today’s colonels have already commanded, been assessed repeatedly, and spent 25 years operating in war. But that misses the lesson. Marshall wasn't simply asking whether an officer had experience. He wanted to know whether yesterday’s successful officer could fight tomorrow’s war.

We have that EXACT problem now.

Twenty years of GWOT experience can be enormously valuable. It can also be scar tissue. COIN rewarded habits, assumptions, risk calculations, command structures, and instincts shaped by a very particular kind of war. The next fight may punish some of them brutally. Experience is only an advantage until the battlefield changes faster than the officer does. The French Army of 1940 was not short on experienced officers. It was short on officers whose experience had not become a literal prison.

The article also separates “Can this officer fight?” from “Can this officer think?” and suggests war colleges might provide the latter. At this level, I don’t think those are separate questions. Senior warfighting is thinking under pressure. The information is incomplete, the enemy moves, logistics fracture, time disappears, political constraints intrude, and every option sucks. Writing an excellent paper can tell me something about your mind. Watching you make consequential decisions when the floor starts moving tells me something else entirely.

And this is where I think the article undersells JWE.

JWE is not revolutionary because it produces another score. It's revolutionary because it allows the institution to discover that its own résumé may be wrong.

A 'golden child' might freeze. Yet the quiet colonel might see the entire problem immediately. The officer with every credential and every sponsor might get beaten by someone nobody had penciled in for stars.

If we're unwilling to accept that possibility, then there is no reason to test anyone, ever.

For thirty years we have looked at the file and inferred the officer. JWE simply asks reality for a second opinion.

The file tells you who the institution thinks can fight. The arena of the JWE tells you who actually can.

But @stuartscheller may have some thoughts on this as well.

https://t.co/yZnsIY5bVI

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

@infantrydort Good write up Dort.

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

Another article on the Joint Warfighter Evaluation's utility.

https://t.co/e7pgtVp0bV

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

Students of the Profession of Arms - worth reading. @SpencerGuard thank you for posting this. It made me think.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

How Do You Pick a Good General? Can this officer fight, think? Great piece by my Director, Modern War Institute at West Point. @MWI_editor @SecWar @KTB_500
https://t.co/3vqb1sGRTb

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

@SpencerGuard Is he on X?

[Stuart Scheller @stuartscheller]

@SpencerGuard @MWI_editor @SecWar @KTB_500 Well written article. Thank you for spending the time.