The Department of Defense is disestablishing the Office of Net Assessment, or ONA, under the orders of Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense and a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient. In a memo obtained by Breaking Defense, Hegseth directed the performance improvement officer and director of administration and management to reassign all civilian employees under ONA to other positions across the DOD while military personnel will receive new billets.
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What Is ONA?
ONA is in charge of providing highly classified comparative assessments of trends, risks, opportunities and competitions of the U.S. military. Established in 1973, the office conducts and delivers these assessments to support the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense.
It also carries out shorter, less formal studies on the behest of senior DOD officials and congressional leaders.
What Is Happening to ONA?
As part of ONA’s disestablishing, Hegseth also ordered the termination of all contracts awarded to support the office.
DOD spokesperson Sean Parnell explained in a public statement that the disestablishment of ONA will ensure that “resources are focused on the most pressing national security challenges while maintaining accountability and efficiency.”
Parnell also confirmed that ONA will be rebuilt. The memo for the deputy secretary of defense to draft a plan for the office to be recreated in a manner consistent with Hegseth’s priorities.
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