Anthony Tata’s Job: Strip the Soul Out of America’s Military-And Hegseth Just Gave Him That Position

Hegseth found his hatchet man...and the Pentagon will pay the price.

Anthony Tata’s Job: Strip the Soul Out of America’s Military-And Hegseth Just Gave Him That Job

Hegseth found his hatchet man…and the Pentagon will pay the price.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #576: Thursday, October 2nd, 2025.

You know things are bad when they stop even pretending.

For years…Trumpworld has whispered about “loyalty tests” in the ranks, “warrior ethos refreshes,” and rooting out the “woke.”

Now it’s no longer whispers. It has a name. It has a czar. And it has a mission: reshape the United States military into an arm of authoritarian politics.

That czar is Anthony Tata.

And if you don’t know his name yet, you soon will. Because the man tapped to run the Pentagon’s so-called “cultural refresh” isn’t just a retired general. He’s a zealot with a track record of inflammatory statements, extremist sympathies, and an appetite for purges.

This isn’t about “refresh.” This is about remaking the military’s DNA…from a professional…Constitution-loyal force into a political loyalty machine.

Who Is Anthony Tata?

Anthony Tata’s résumé looks impressive on the surface:

Retired Army brigadier general…combat tours…policy roles…a career spent in uniform. But scratch beneath… and the record is checkered.

• He called Islam “the most oppressive violent religion.”

• He smeared Barack Obama as a “terrorist leader.”

• He promoted conspiracy theories and partisan attacks.

• He flamed out of civilian leadership jobs in education and transportation with scandals and lawsuits trailing behind.

• His first nomination under Trump was blocked because even Republicans were nervous about his rhetoric.

And yet, here he is…resurrected…installed as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness…and now charged with leading the Pentagon’s “cultural refresh.”

Think about that:

The man who oversees promotions…assignments…readiness training…personnel policy…and military culture is someone who openly advocated purges of disloyal officers. If you were writing a handbook for authoritarian capture…you couldn’t script it better.

What “Cultural Refresh” Really Means

You don’t need to be a marketing genius to hear the spin. “Refresh” sounds like a morale boost.

A little polish. A new coat of paint. But in politics, euphemisms are weapons. And this one hides a simple, dangerous reality:

“Cultural refresh” = purge and replace.

Here’s what it signals:

Loyalty screening disguised as values training.

Officers and enlisted will be evaluated not only on performance but on ideological conformity. Disagree with the narrative? Career over.

Quiet firings, fast promotions.

Those who echo the party line get accelerated careers. Those who don’t suddenly “lack readiness.”

Erosion of the apolitical ethic.

For decades, the U.S. military prided itself on being professional, not partisan. That firewall is being dismantled brick by brick.

New indoctrination programs.

Expect “training modules” framed as patriotism but written to enforce ideological obedience.

When Tata talks about “refresh,” what he means is swapping the Constitution for a creed of personal loyalty to a leader. And Trump loves him for it.

Why Tata, Why Now?

Trump could have chosen dozens of retired officers to run personnel policy. Why Tata?

The answer is simple: Tata says the quiet part out loud.

While other generals couch their critiques in jargon…Tata is blunt. He has called for purges. He has attacked presidents. He has embraced culture-war politics in uniform and out.

Trump and Hegseth didn’t want a manager. They wanted an enforcer.

And that’s what Tata represents:

The enforcer class. People willing to carry out the purge…dress it up as patriotism… and sell it to the public as “strengthening the warrior ethos.”

The New Military Direction

Let’s be brutally clear: this isn’t about efficiency. It isn’t about readiness. It isn’t about morale. It’s about power.

The “refresh” points to three interlocking shifts:

1. The Military as Political Theater

Generals and admirals will be pressured to show loyalty not through competence but through symbolic acts: attendance at rallies…silence in the face of outrageous rhetoric… public support for political programs.

2. The Military as Domestic Tool

Trump has openly said he wants to deploy armed troops into American cities…to deal with the “enemy within.” Tata’s appointment signals preparation for that reality: shaping the culture so that orders to act against civilians are less likely to be resisted.

3. The Military as Ideological Schoolhouse

Personnel policy means training curricula. It means orientation. It means what gets rewarded. With Tata at the helm, expect mandatory training modules that push loyalty to “the leader,” not the law.

Expect diversity programs gutted…whistleblowers silenced…critical thinkers sidelined.

This is the re-wiring of the armed forces in plain sight.

What Tata’s History Tells Us About His Future

To understand what Tata might do, look at what he’s already done.

As an Army officer:

Known more for self-promotion than substance. Quick to climb…quicker to take credit.

As a political commentator:

Aggressive…inflammatory…dismissive of dissent. He made a name for himself by going further than others would.

As a civilian leader:

He left jobs in education and transportation under clouds of scandal…lawsuits…and accusations of mismanagement.

What unites these?

A pattern: inflamed rhetoric…shaky management…ideological zeal.

Put that pattern in charge of personnel policy…and you can expect mass confusion.. rushed decisions…and rules rewritten to punish perceived enemies.

The Risks to the Republic

This isn’t about one man. It’s about the role he’s been handed. Tata controls the levers that shape who stays…who goes, and who rises in the military hierarchy.

That matters because: Future generals are picked today.

• Personnel policy decides which colonels get promoted to general. If the process is politicized now..the next decade of leadership is compromised.

• Resistance gets harder over time. Purges don’t show up all at once. They’re gradual. One firing here, one blocked promotion there, until the culture quietly tilts toward conformity.

• Civil-military balance collapses. The U.S. military has survived coups and authoritarian drift precisely because its senior leaders saw themselves as guardians of the Constitution, not tools of a man. That culture is what Tata is tasked to erase.

If that firewall goes…the damage is not temporary. It echoes for generations.

What Ordinary Citizens Should Expect

You’re not in the Pentagon…so what does this mean for you? A lot.

• Expect more troops at home. With the culture shifting, deployments into cities will look less extraordinary and more normalized.

• Expect selective discipline. Military whistleblowers and dissenters will face harsher penalties. Meanwhile, partisans who cross lines may be protected.

• Expect propaganda framed as training. Recruitment ads, public military ceremonies, even “cultural events” will start to look like campaign rallies with uniforms.

This isn’t speculation…it’s the direction already signaled by Tata’s appointment and Trump’s rhetoric.

What We Can Do

1. Expose the Euphemism

Never say “cultural refresh” without explaining what it is: a purge. Euphemisms only work if the public repeats them. Smash the spin.

2. Support Oversight

Call your representatives. Demand hearings. Personnel policy is dry on paper…but it’s the heart of the military. Make them pay attention.

3. Defend Whistleblowers

The next few years will see officers disciplined for “disloyalty.” We need networks ready to defend and amplify their voices.

4. Protest the Domestic Turn

If you see troops deployed in cities for political theater…don’t shrug. Treat it as the five-alarm fire it is. Because that’s how “normalization” is stopped: by refusing to normalize.

“This Ain’t The Corner Candy Shop.”

Let’s stop sugarcoating. The appointment of Anthony Tata is not just a staffing choice. It’s a signal flare.

It tells us the direction Trumpworld intends to take the military: away from apolitical professionalism…toward loyalty-driven obedience.

They’re not hiding it. They’re not soft-pedaling it. They’re daring you to notice.

Tata is the test case. If the public shrugs…the purges deepen. If the brass stays quiet, the pressure ramps up.

And if citizens pretend it doesn’t affect them…they’ll wake up one day in a country where the armed forces no longer serve the Constitution but a man.

That’s why I’m writing this. Not to scare you. To prepare you. Because when the purge is dressed up as a “refresh,” clarity becomes the most powerful weapon you have.

BONUS: The Man Behind the “Refresh”

Anthony Tata is not an unknown quantity. He’s a case study in what happens when bluster, grievance, and ambition collide inside the uniform. To understand why he matters now, you need to see the full arc of his career…and what it reveals about the future of the military under his hand.

The Early Days: Soldier, Author, Celebrity General

Tata came up through the Army as an airborne and air assault officer. He held brigade command…served in Afghanistan…and wore the ribbons of a career officer. But unlike many of his peers…Tata had a taste for the limelight.

He wrote military thrillers.

He gave interviews. He marketed himself as a warrior-intellectual. That mix…soldier and salesman…made him stand out. It also made him polarizing. Inside the Army… plenty rolled their eyes at what they saw as self-promotion over substance.

The Flameout: Scandal and Politics

After retiring, Tata turned up in civilian posts:

Chief operating officer for D.C. public schools, later North Carolina transportation secretary. Both ended in chaos.

• In D.C., he was accused of falsifying his résumé and embroiled in contract controversies.

• In North Carolina…he faced lawsuits…staff revolts…and ethics complaints until he was forced out.

These weren’t small missteps. They were proof of a pattern: Tata in charge meant turbulence…lawsuits…and fallout.

The Partisan Pivot

By the late 2010s, Tata found his lane: cable news.

He became a Fox News regular…blasting “woke culture,” attacking Democrats…and burnishing his MAGA credentials.

Then came the social media trail. He called Islam “the most oppressive violent religion.” He smeared Obama as a “terrorist leader.” He peddled conspiracies and culture-war grievances.

That record should have ended his chances at serious government roles. In fact…in Trump’s first term…it almost did: his nomination for a top Pentagon role was blocked after bipartisan backlash.

But Trumpworld doesn’t bury its loyalists. It resurrects them. And with Hegseth at the helm of Defense…Tata was dusted off and reinstalled.

Why Trump and Hegseth Love Him

Tata isn’t just a soldier. He’s a true believer. Where other generals hedge their words, Tata charges headlong into partisan politics.

Where others respect boundaries between military service and civilian politics…Tata obliterates them.

That makes him dangerous.

Because the role he now holds…Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness…controls the levers that decide the future shape of the military.

Promotions. Assignments. Training. Evaluations. The very things that determine who rises and who gets sidelined.

Trump and Hegseth don’t need Tata to be competent. They need him to be ruthless and loyal. And he is both.

The Psychology of a Purger

Tata’s personality reveals the profile of a perfect enforcer:

Chip on his shoulder.

Always a little outside the establishment…always resentful of being overlooked.

Zeal for attention.

A man who wrote thrillers about military heroes wasn’t just telling stories…he was selling himself.

Partisan rage.

The kind that doesn’t stop at policy differences but paints opponents as enemies.

That psychology makes him useful to Trump’s project. Because a man with a chip on his shoulder is eager to cut down “elites.”

A man hungry for attention is willing to play the role of loyal hatchetman. And a man consumed by rage has no qualms about turning the military into a political tool.

What Tata Means for the Future

Put it all together and here’s what you get:

Promotions tilted toward loyalty.

Officers who play ball rise. Those who dissent stall.

Training rewritten.

Warrior ethos reframed around loyalty to “the leader” rather than to the law.

Whistleblowers punished.

Expect more prosecutions and fewer protections.

A decade-long tilt.

Because personnel policy isn’t about today’s generals…it’s about tomorrow’s. Who you promote now decides who wears stars ten years from now.

That’s why Tata’s appointment is more than symbolic.

It’s generational sabotage. A man who flamed out in civilian jobs and doubled down on partisanship now holds the keys to shaping the future of America’s military culture.

Potato-PoTATA

Anthony Tata is not just a name on a chart. He’s the embodiment of a dangerous new direction:

A military less loyal to the Constitution and more loyal to a man.

He is the purger-in-chief. The enforcer. The signal that Trump and Hegseth are done pretending.

And if you think one man can’t tilt the Pentagon…think again.

Personnel is policy. Culture is destiny. And Tata is about to write both in permanent ink.

Your Mental and Emotional Health

Is it possible to get calmer…the crazier things get?
The answer: Absolutely.

1. Your nervous system is wired for it.

2. I’ve been proving it in my own life for years.

Maybe you can’t flip that switch right this second…but don’t get twisted. The fact is: it’s not only possible…it’s waiting for you.

And I’ll show you how. Stay tuned. It’s the most important skill to have for any human being, in my opinion. Now…more than ever.

I’ll be back…sooner…than later.

Best,

-Jack

P.S. Don’t underestimate how fragile this balance is. Democracies don’t always collapse with tanks rolling through capitals.

Sometimes they collapse with HR memos. With “training refreshers.” With promotions that tilt the culture year by year.

That’s what Tata represents. And that’s why it matters that we fight it…not next year, not at the next election…but right now.