Hegseth Directs DOD Civilian Workforce to Comply with Musk's DOGE Productivity Email

In a rather eyebrow-raising move, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the Department of Defense (DOD) civilian workforce to comply with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) productivity email. The directive includes a requirement for employees to list five accomplishments, marking a shift from earlier guidance to ignore the request.

Hegseth explained the change on Sunday in a video message, emphasizing the importance of the civilian workforce to national security. "Our civilian patriots who dedicate themselves to defending this nation working for the Department of Defense are critical to our national security," he stated. Hegseth highlighted the need to refocus on the DOD's core warfighting mission, aligning with President Trump's leadership.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Musk, who leads the DOGE effort, shared Hegseth's video on X (formerly Twitter), thanking the Secretary of Defense with a saluting emoji and an American flag emoji. Classic Elon, keeping things both efficient and patriotic.

The directive became official on Friday, when Hegseth signed a memorandum requiring all DOD civilian employees to respond to an anticipated email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The email, expected on Monday, calls for employees to provide five bullet points summarizing their accomplishments from the previous week, with supervisors copied on the responses.

This marks a pivot from last week's chaos, when OPM's initial email request for similar reports was met with a DOD recommendation to ignore it. Hegseth clarified in his memorandum that the department has since collaborated with OPM to iron out the details, leading to the current compliance 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 stated. He also warned that non-compliance could result in further review, adding a not-so-subtle hint for employees to take this seriously.

While the directive insists on responses, it cautions employees to avoid including sensitive or classified information in their submissions. The message here? Keep it professional and stick to broad strokes, folks.

Elon Musk, never one for understatement, previously commented on the productivity reports, saying, "The bar is very low," and hinting that those who fail to comply should consider resigning. Subtle as a brick, but effective nonetheless.

As the DOD shifts to comply with the DOGE initiative, it's clear that the government is taking productivity—and Musk’s influence—seriously. Whether this will result in efficiency or just more bureaucratic headaches remains to be seen.