An Admiral's Rise Reveals the Politics Driving Hegseth's Pentagon

Last year, Adm. Daryl Caudle saw an opening to land the Navy's top job, and he seized it. Before Pete Hegseth had even been sworn in as defense secretary, Caudle, then the head of a major Navy training command, offered to help Hegseth prepare for his politically contentious Senate confirmation hearing, according to current and former defense officials. The outreach was a breach of military ethics, the officials said; senior military officers are supposed to avoid any hint of partisan bias or political activity.

Nothing came of the offer. But soon after Hegseth took office, he fired the first woman to lead the Navy: Caudle's boss, Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Days later, a senior officer on Caudle's staff contacted Hegseth's team in another breach of protocol. His pitch: Hegseth should choose Caudle to be the next chief of naval operations. The officer described Caudle in terms that matched Hegseth's view of the values military officers should embody. There was "no one more in line" with Hegseth's vision for remaking the military, he said, according to an official familiar with the exchange. The officer cast Caudle as a "warfighter" who wanted to remove "woke barriers" that he claimed were weakening the force.

Even though Caudle was not on a list of candidates recommended by senior Navy officials, Hegseth chose him for the job. But before the promotion could be finalized, the admiral needed to address another problem: an unresolved inspector general investigation into comments he had made to sailors about the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, which some interpreted as blaming victims.

To help resolve the inquiry, Caudle hired Timothy Parlatore, a Navy reservist and well-known lawyer who had represented Hegseth and President Donald Trump. Parlatore had recently been tapped by Hegseth to serve as his "special adviser" in the Pentagon. Before Caudle was a client, Parlatore had recommended him to Hegseth as a strong candidate to lead the Navy. The inspector general found the allegations of wrongdoing to be unsubstantiated, and Caudle took over as the 34th chief of naval operations last summer.

His path to that position is a case study in how the military promotion process at the Pentagon under Hegseth has deviated from tradition, leaving it susceptible, in the view of critics, to politicization and favoritism. Since taking office nearly 18 months ago, Hegseth has fired or sidelined more than two dozen senior officers, including Franchetti. He has also removed from promotion lists about 40 senior officers who had been selected by boards made up of their peers. Hegseth has insisted that his actions were necessary to root out those he has described as radical ideologues. "The left captured the military quickly, and we must reclaim it at a faster pace," he wrote in his 2024 book, "The War on Warriors." "We must wage a frontal assault, a swift counterattack, in broad daylight".

Caudle's promotion is a view into the flip side of Hegseth's purge. Before the defense secretary had even taken office, he had publicly singled out Franchetti as someone he believed had been promoted solely because of her gender. She knew that if Hegseth was confirmed, she would likely be fired. In December 2024, Franchetti called together the Navy's four-star admirals to discuss potential replacements. She reminded them that their most important job in the coming weeks was to put the Navy's integrity and its reputation as an apolitical institution ahead of their ambitions. Caudle was in the room that day and around the same time was also privately offering to help Hegseth prepare for his confirmation hearing.

Capt. Dave Hecht, a spokesman for Caudle, said in a statement that the admiral planned to limit his discussion with Hegseth to "factual, operational matters" and that his interactions with Hegseth always focused on military, not political, issues. "Adm. Caudle has consistently conducted himself in a professional, nonpartisan manner throughout his career," Captain Hecht's statement added.

After Hegseth fired Franchetti, senior Navy officials assembled a list of the three officers they believed were best qualified to fill her position. Caudle was not on it; Navy leaders thought he was better suited to lead the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal. Hegseth reviewed the Navy's list in a meeting with senior staff members. "Where's Caudle?" he asked, according to officials with knowledge of the meeting. Hegseth's chief of staff said he was not familiar with the admiral. Hegseth instructed him to discuss the matter with Parlatore.

Parlatore, who had left the Navy a decade earlier, had recently been commissioned by Hegseth as a Navy reservist and member of the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. As a civilian attorney, he had represented naval officers and sailors in a series of high-profile cases. He also helped Hegseth negotiate a $50,000 settlement with a woman who had accused him of raping her in 2017, and had represented Trump in matters related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and classified documents found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Parlatore had not met Caudle, but told Hegseth that he had heard good things about him. In late March, Hegseth selected Caudle to lead the Navy. Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said that Hegseth "interviewed many candidates for the position and ultimately found Admiral Caudle to be the right fit". "Every decision is based strictly on merit," Parnell added.

Before Caudle's nomination could be sent to the White House, the inspector general had to complete its investigation. Sailors recalled Caudle telling them in an informal conversation at an awards banquet that the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program needed to focus more on helping troops avoid risky behavior. According to the sailors, Caudle offered examples: If he strode naked through the forest, coated in honey, he should not be surprised if he were attacked by a bear; if he wore gold chains and a fancy watch on a visit to Harlem, he risked getting robbed. At least one sailor believed Caudle was blaming assault victims for provoking their attacks.

In an interview with The New York Times, Parlatore described his work on behalf of Caudle as routine. He identified and suggested witnesses to the inspector general and accompanied Caudle to his interview with investigators. "The same thing I have done for hundreds of others," he said.

Caudle took command as the chief of naval operations last summer. "I'm chomping at the bit to get after the work that lies ahead to ensure that our Navy remains and forever will be the most dominant, lethal and credible maritime fighting force the world has ever known," he told a crowd of dignitaries that included several former chiefs of naval operations, including Franchetti. He closed his speech with a pledge to lead the Navy with "integrity, honor and resolve".

Since then, Parlatore's dual role as a private lawyer and special adviser to Hegseth has sparked concern in Congress. In April, Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, pressed Hegseth on whether Parlatore represented officers being considered for promotions. "I'm the one that makes decisions about choosing senior officers," Hegseth said. "Does he represent them, Mr. Secretary?" Crow pressed. "He doesn't represent anyone," Hegseth replied. "He's a legal adviser to me on reserve duty, and always has been". The next day, Parlatore sent Crow a letter asserting that he did not represent senior military officers under consideration for promotion. He did not mention his earlier work for Caudle.

Parlatore said that there was nothing preventing him from working as a Navy reservist in Hegseth's office and representing military clients. Still, to avoid any appearance of impropriety, he told The Times that in late 2024 he stopped taking new military clients and ceased charging earlier clients with active cases. The sole exception, he said, was Caudle.