Hegseth Gives Defense Department's Civilian Workforce an Update About DOGE's Email Request

Leah Barkoukis | March 03, 2025 9:30 AM

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce to prepare a list of accomplishments from the prior work week, a change from previous guidance instructing them to hold off on the DOGE-directed request from the Office of Personnel Management.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the employees should look for an email on Monday, March 3, asking for this information and they are expected to reply.

The department will consolidate the responses internally to satisfy the Office of Personnel Management's directive.

"The Department of Defense initially paused this directive ... but now requires all DOD civilian employees to submit five bullets on their previous week's achievements," Hegseth said in a memorandum.

Last weekend, OPM sent a request for the same information, but the department's Office of Personnel and Readiness told employees to stand down on the request. Now that the department has worked with OPM to get more clear guidance on what is expected, Hegseth said employees can start writing their submissions. [...]
According to guidance from the secretary, it is an email from the Defense Department employees should respond to. That email will come Monday, and responses to it should not include classified or sensitive information. Additionally, Hegseth said in his memorandum, non-compliance may lead to further review.
Civilian employees who will not have email access in the 48 hours following delivery of the email due to being on leave, shift work or other reasons, are to complete the request within 48 hours of regaining access, the secretary wrote.
Additionally, civilian employees who do not typically have email access will work with their supervisors to meet the request. (Defense Department)

"Our civilian patriots who dedicate themselves to defending this nation working for the Department of Defense are critical to our national security," Hegseth said in a video. "As we work to restore focus on DOD's core warfighting mission under President Trump's leadership, we recognize that we cannot accomplish that mission without the strong and important contributions of our civilian workforce."

I am now directing each member of the department’s civilian federal workforce to provide 5 bullets of what they accomplished last week and comply with OPM’s email directive. https://t.co/BJOoEvVTza
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 2, 2025