Pentagon  Gives Undisclosed Civilian Roles to Conservative Military Veterans

By Staff, Agencies

The Pentagon has  appointed several retired military officers with large conservative online followings to civilian government positions without publicly announcing their roles, according to people familiar with the appointments and documents reviewed by The Washington Post.

The individuals have publicly supported War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration while criticizing those who have challenged its policies. At least some of them  hold civilian positions that could give them influence over defense policy.

Among those identified are retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness and retired Army Col. Kurt Schlichter. Pentagon records reviewed by the Post show that both have active government email accounts and are affiliated with the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness.

The “.civ” designation attached to their government email addresses indicates that they are classified as civilian employees rather than military personnel or contractors.

After retiring from the armed forces, Maness and Schlichter became prominent conservative commentators, building substantial audiences on social media. Maness has more than 135,000 followers on X, while Schlichter has nearly 620,000.

Another retired Army colonel, Thomas Anderson, was also listed earlier this year as a civilian employee in Tata’s office, according to Pentagon records and sources familiar with the matter. Anderson, a lawyer who writes under the name Cynical Publius, has more than 323,000 followers on X. His name was reportedly removed from Pentagon records by late last week.

The appointments have not previously been publicly reported, although the individuals’ connections to the Pentagon had prompted speculation online.

All three have expressed views broadly supportive of Hegseth and the Trump administration. Maness recently called for the dismissal of Pentagon employees he considered “disloyal,” while Schlichter praised Trump’s approach to Iran. Anderson has repeatedly criticized Trump’s political opponents and defended Hegseth’s changes to the military.

According to sources, the three were appointed under classifications such as “special government employees” or “highly qualified experts.”

Maness, Schlichter and Anderson also participated in a May visit to the Army War College as members of a Pentagon task force focused on removing what Hegseth has characterized as “toxic” or “woke” ideology from military education, according to two people familiar with the matter.