America’s secretary of Defense is its first line of defense. Pete Hegseth admits he couldn’t always walk a line. So how will he hold the line when facing astute counterparts around the world?

Russian Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov, the former minister of Economic Development, has experience aligning his nation’s budget with military needs. He launched an unmanned aviation industry that built 18,000 drones. China’s minister of National Defense, Admiral Dong Jun, served as commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy and as deputy chief of staff of China’s North Sea Fleet. He knows how to interweave various military services to function as a team.

That’s called "jointness," about which Hegseth knows little. He touted his Army background in the National Guard as a qualification to be secretary of Defense, but just as different cultures, goals and methods divide allies in a coalition, they also divide military branches.

Training and loyalties begin and end with one’s unit. Joint military action is critical for today’s complex missions, right down to compatible........

© The Hill