Pentagon Creates Homeland Defense Board, With Hegseth as Chairman

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will personally chair a newly established federal advisory panel dedicated to homeland defense, according to documents published in the Federal Register on Sept. 11. The Homeland Defense Board (HDB) is the Pentagon’s first advisory committee of its kind focused on domestic security and hemispheric defense matters.

The move comes roughly a year after Hegseth eliminated a series of long-standing Pentagon advisory bodies, including the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). Department officials argue in the board’s establishing documents that no existing federal advisory committee can supply the kind of integrated military guidance homeland defense missions require.

Why the Pentagon Says a New Panel Is Needed

The justification documents contend that other agencies’ advisory structures are legally limited to non-military domains. The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, for example, is described as focused on civilian law enforcement and lacking a mandate to advise on Title 10 or Title 32 domestic troop deployments. The State Department’s International Security Advisory Board, centered on diplomacy and arms control, is characterized as ill-suited to hemispheric military planning.

The documents also point to what they describe as an increasingly complex threat environment, citing peer and near-peer adversaries projecting economic, cyber, and military power into the Western Hemisphere, alongside non-state actors and asymmetric activity.

Composition of the Board

The HDB will have up to 20 members. Hegseth serves as chair, with the assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs as vice chair. Deputy assistant secretaries overseeing homeland defense, defense continuity, and mission assurance will also sit on the board, along with one civilian and one field- or mid-grade officer from each military service branch. The secretary may appoint additional members at his discretion.

Asked about the board’s creation, a Pentagon official said the department had “nothing to provide.”

Industry Context

Advisory bodies focused on homeland defense can shape the policy environment in which defense contractors operate, particularly around domestic support missions and hemispheric posture. Among publicly traded companies with defense exposure, National Presto Industries (NPK) — which supplies defense and safety products alongside its housewares business — closed the prior session at $146.52 and traded recently at $144.01, down 1.72%, with a market capitalization of roughly $1.06 billion.

The board’s establishment follows large-scale National Guard deployments to U.S. cities supporting law enforcement and an ongoing troop presence at the southern border, missions that have expanded the military’s domestic footprint in recent years.

What to watch

• Publication of the board’s member roster and meeting schedule in the Federal Register.
• Whether Congress passes pending legislation formally renaming the department, which would affect the board’s charter language.
• First recommendations issued by the HDB and any resulting policy or budgetary proposals.
• Department budget documents for homeland defense-related funding lines.

Source: original release