Hegseth to chair new Pentagon homeland defense board

New advisory board

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will chair the Homeland Defense Board, a new Pentagon advisory committee focused on homeland security and defense. The board is the first Defense Department advisory panel dedicated to those issues.

The Pentagon announced the committee in the Federal Register on Sept. 11. Its creation establishes a department-level forum centered on the military’s homeland defense responsibilities and related security concerns.

The panel’s name and stated focus bring homeland security and defense together under one advisory body. Hegseth’s role as chair places the defense secretary directly in charge of the committee rather than assigning its leadership elsewhere within the department.

What the board changes

The Homeland Defense Board adds a formal advisory structure to the Pentagon’s work on protecting the United States. As an advisory committee, it is intended to inform the department’s consideration of homeland security and defense matters.

The board’s establishment is a Pentagon management and policy development. It does not itself announce a military operation, a change in law or an election-related action.

The Federal Register announcement serves as the government’s formal public notice of the committee. The board’s work will be defined by how the Pentagon organizes its activities and uses its recommendations on homeland defense. Its significance will also depend on the subjects it takes up and how those subjects connect to the department’s broader responsibilities for national defense.