Hegseth vows to boost Pentagon's interactions with Gold Star families

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday promised to boost the Pentagon's interactions and communications with Gold Star families during the first meeting of the War Department's Gold Star Advisory Council.

The Gold Star Advisory Council seeks to elevate concerns from Gold Star families directly to Pentagon leadership, including potential issues with the Pentagon's Casualty Assistance Program and its notification process.

Gold Star families are the relatives of service members who died in the line of duty.

"For far too long — especially in our generation — there was just a big gap between what 'right' looks like and what reality was," Hegseth said during the meeting. "Whether it's husbands or wives or fathers or mothers, the whole casualty assistance and Gold Star process was broken. Our charge here is that there's a lot of things that are broken [and] a lot of things that need to change."

Hegseth, who created the council in May, praised his predecessors in the Gold Star program for their efforts to reform the system and said it was not because of a lack of caring that the program had issues, but that he would work to solve the issues.

"It was just not enough concentration on forging that solution that really works and really shows the humanity to a process that is ultimately a human process," Hegseth said.

The secretary's two co-vice chairs of the council are Anthony Tata, undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness, and Gold Star wife Jane Horton, who also serves as a senior advisor to Hegseth.  

The council will meet twice a year and offer policy recommendations that help Gold Star families. The panel will also hold the department accountable if it fails to take the concerns of Gold Star families seriously.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.