{"id":136641,"date":"2018-12-21T16:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:28:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:28:30","slug":"with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/","title":{"rendered":"Shanahan poised to rewire the Pentagon with Mattis out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 With the shock waves of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/20\/mattis-out-defense-secretary-says-his-views-no-longer-aligned-with-trump\/\" target=_blank>announcement Thursday<\/a> that he will be leaving the Pentagon, speculation is well underway as to who will replace him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And should a new secretary of defense not be named and confirmed by the end of February \u2014 hardly a given, based on the Trump administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2017\/10\/04\/one-hand-tied-behind-your-back-why-dods-empty-policy-chair-matters\/\" target=_blank>history of getting nominees<\/a> through the Senate \u2014 a little known figure outside of national security and aviation circles could suddenly find himself elevated to the head of the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who popped up as a surprise choice for deputy secretary of defense in early 2017, has spent the last year focused on reforming the internal processes of the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While flashier names will undoubtedly present themselves as options for the now-vacant role, it is possible that Shanahan could be tapped by President Donald Trump to the full secretary job. Two sources with knowledge of discussions said Shanahan\u2019s name will likely be on any list of contenders, but could not say how serious a candidate the deputy might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A third source, this one close to Shanahan, said the deputy has \u201cnever aspired\u201d to the top job, but wouldn\u2019t rule the option out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s not a policy or geopolitics guy. He\u2019s a business guy,\u201d the source said. \u201cBut he\u2019s spent the last year learning from the best. And Shanahan is known for having a good relationship\u201d with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/outlook\/2018\/12\/10\/us-deputy-defense-secretary-a-look-at-missiles-space-and-cyber-in-next-years-national-strategy\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Shanahan_web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US deputy defense secretary: A look at missiles, space and cyber in next year\u2019s national strategy<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Thanks to President Trump\u2019s vision and Secretary Mattis\u2019 leadership, as well as support of Congress, we\u2019ve seen the benefits of a unified, whole-of-government approach guided by a clear-eyed National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Shanahan ends up taking a job promotion, whether it be to secretary of another role \u2014 he has denied interest in taking over at OMB should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/17\/how-trumps-new-chief-of-staff-can-impact-the-fy20-defense-plan\/\" target=_blank>Mick Mulvaney<\/a> become the permanent chief of staff for Trump \u2014 it\u2019s worth asking the question: just who is Patrick Shanahan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In October, Defense News sat down with Shanahan and asked him to lay out his vision of the department\u2019s future and how to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Specifically challenged on what his equivalent to his predecessor\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/techwatch\/2015\/12\/14\/work-outlines-key-steps-in-third-offset-tech-development\/\" target=\"_blank\">Third Offset<\/a>\u201d idea would be, Shanahan said he believes his job is to \u201coperationalize\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2018\/01\/19\/national-defense-strategy-released-with-clear-priority-stay-ahead-of-russia-and-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Defense Strategy<\/a>, \u201cdriving systemic change \u2014 rewiring the organization to increase our performance on lethality, alliances, and reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToo often we focus on process, or budget, or level of effort,\u201d Shanahan told Defense News. \u201cThe Pentagon should focus on outcomes and outputs \u2014 our performance. This focus on performance should drive us to field unmatched lethality, execute on our modernization plans and achieve this affordably.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s all about the system and then the reinforcing mechanisms to make that change enduring. Without a system, things fall apart when the leader moves on,\u201d Shanahan noted. \u201cThe system or the environment shouldn&#8217;t be dependent on the leader&#8217;s presence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s very easy in a complex environment like this to get distracted. The tactical can consume an enormous amount of time,\u201d he said. \u201cBut my job is really to drive change at scale and there\u2019s a formula for doing that. And the formula really has to do with change [which] must be systemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If there is indeed a formula, Pentagon watchers are keeping a close eye for signs of its impact. Shanahan has said in the past the fiscal 2020 budget will be the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cmasterpiece\u201d and set the stage for the future of the Defense Department, in line with Mattis\u2019 National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ll know a lot more once that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2018\/12\/18\/the-pentagon-still-doesnt-know-how-much-money-its-getting-for-fy20-heres-why-that-matters-long-term\/\" target=\"_blank\">FY20 budget request drops<\/a> and we can see how effective he was,\u201d said Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. \u201cThat\u2019s a fair time to render judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/interviews\/2018\/11\/12\/pentagons-no-2-explains-his-lack-of-satisfaction-with-the-f-35\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4807920.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Patrick Shanahan on the F-35, modernization and budget cuts<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The deputy secretary of defense discusses his view on the budget, cutting costs and how to change the internal workings of the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Priorities push<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On day one, Shanahan says, he had two things to focus on: figuring out what long-lead modernization issues had to be addressed, and dealing with the situations in the Middle East and North Korea. The latter was at its hottest point, with Shanahan\u2019s formal swearing in happening just days after Trump threatened Pyongyang with \u201cfire and fury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the immediate fires were at least calmed down, Shanahan turned his eyes internally, starting with changing how the department handles IT. That included bringing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/management\/leadership\/2018\/04\/05\/pentagon-names-dana-deasy-to-lead-defense-it\/\" target=_blank>Dana Deasy<\/a> to manage the cloud integration and a greater push on updating the department\u2019s backroom technology \u2014 a push that hasn\u2019t netted the early results Shanahan could have hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow we\u2019ve got those things underway, I wanted to make sure the foundation was laid for IT. That was the most important\u201d step, Shanahan said. And while he is \u201cover the moon happy\u201d with changes to U.S. Cyber Command, \u201cI\u2019m super frustrated that we can\u2019t go faster on basic things like the cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere isn\u2019t anybody intentionally standing on the air hose, but government procurement is very deliberate. And so there\u2019s a number of those [issues] that we have to refine. I wish that would go faster,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harrison describes Shanahan\u2019s projects as focused on \u201cinternal efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis focus seems to have been on back office of the Pentagon and trying to make some of those business processes work better, but also coming up with business-like metrics for operations,\u201d Harrison noted, pointing to the push to get above 80 percent mission capable on key aircraft as the kind of hard-data project the deputy seems to gravitate towards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A through-line for all Shanahan\u2019s procurement discussions appears to be getting rid of duplicative systems \u2014 for example, situations where the Army and Air Force both have a need for a similar system and develop unique solutions on their own, rather than joining up and creating a single system that can be used department-wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"856\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump-summit.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump-summit.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump-summit.jpg.jpg?resize=300,214 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump-summit.jpg.jpg?resize=768,548 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump-summit.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,730 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during his meeting with members of his cabinet in Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Looking on is Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. (AP Photo\/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That matters both in focused areas, such as getting all the health IT systems talking to one another or consolidating duplicative back-office functions within a single office or service to save costs, and more broadly across the entire department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But traditionally, the services have resisted being forced into one-size-fits-all procurement strategies. Asked how that gets solved, Shanahan said the answer rests with \u201crelationships,\u201d both among the services and up to his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He points to Army Futures Command head <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2018\/10\/10\/the-value-of-experience-for-futures-command\/\" target=_blank>Gen. John Murray<\/a> as an example, saying Murray is \u201cgoing to have the acquisition responsibility, but what we\u2019re going to do as a department is agree that he\u2019s going to use these interfaces and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat\u2019s happened in the past is they\u2019ll have a need date and we\u2019ll have not been responsive to giving them what they need, and so they have to move out by virtue of the schedule that they committed to. That\u2019s the horizontal play that we\u2019ve got to work to here in the department. If we get that, then we\u2019re joint beyond anybody\u2019s wildest dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And perhaps the biggest test case for making sure everyone in the department is on the same page is what may end up defining Shanahan\u2019s time in the building: the development of Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/10\/29\/the-biggest-challenge-to-the-pentagons-space-plan-hint-its-not-the-technology\/\" target=_blank>sought after Space Force<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shanahan has the lead inside the building on developing the new space structure, and as he talks about his vision for the setup, it\u2019s less about space capabilities themselves and more about making sure everyone is talking to everyone else in the same language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe people that are going to do space development, their principle job is to ensure horizontal integration across the department. It\u2019s less about the space mission than it is this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive standards and integration,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t technology. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/11\/08\/space-expertise-isnt-necessary-to-run-the-space-development-agency-says-pentagon-deputy\/\" target=_blank>This is about the network<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2018\/12\/20\/trumps-new-space-force-to-reside-under-department-of-the-air-force\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4988035.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump\u2019s new Space Force to reside under Department of the Air Force<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The new service will be overseen by the newly created undersecretary of the Air Force for the Space Force and a Space Force chief of staff, who will sit on the Joint Chiefs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Internal pushback<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unsurprisingly, not everyone in the Pentagon is on board with Shanahan\u2019s style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several officials with first-hand exposure to Shanahan told Defense News they feel the deputy is too focused on having meetings, sucking up staff time without having many concrete victories to point to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The officials also described Shanahan as having a sometimes combative personality. The deputy has reportedly clashed with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2018\/10\/04\/trump-considers-ousting-air-force-head-over-space-force-pushback\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson<\/a> and was allegedly a driving force in the firing of Chief Management Officer Jay Gibson after only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/24\/whats-going-on-with-the-pentagons-chief-management-officer\/\" target=\"_blank\">nine months on the job<\/a>. He also reportedly was not particularly close with Mattis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked about criticisms in an email followup to the interview, Shanahan downplayed them as \u201ccompletely normal and expected with instituting systemic change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is also natural that people are defensive when leaders begin focusing on performance rather than process,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked what he would say to complaints his initiatives have yet to produce major shifts, Shanahan expressed confidence that at the end of the day, results would be evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn any large organization, successful change requires rewiring and retooling systems. These are not quick fixes, and take time to produce results, but it is only way to produce lasting change at scale,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the end, the question will be: \u2018Did we implement the National Defense Strategy?\u2019 The NDS is our plan, now we are assessing performance of the enterprise against that plan, and rewiring the systems to enable improved, long-term performance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan could suddenly find himself in the spotlight, following Defense Secretary Jim Mattis&#8217; announced departure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":97313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":86,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[15,86],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3302],"class_list":["post-136641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"24JIPZMYTNAXJDMYRRZVW5Y5BA","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shanahan poised to rewire the Pentagon with Mattis out - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan could suddenly find himself in the spotlight, following Defense Secretary Jim Mattis&#039; announced departure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shanahan poised to rewire the Pentagon with Mattis out\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan could suddenly find himself in the spotlight, following Defense Secretary Jim Mattis&#039; announced departure.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-21T16:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:28:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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