The Pentagon’s War Focus Is Making America Less Secure
The Department of Defense—recently rebranded by the Trump administration as the Department of War—has announced it will reduce mandatory cybersecurity training across the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the change as an effort to restore “mission focus” and free troops from what he called administrative distractions.
But this move comes at a time when cyberattacks against the U.S. military and critical infrastructure are increasing, threatening everything from hospitals and schools to water systems and election networks.
Militarism Over True Safety
Cutting back on cybersecurity and privacy training in the name of “war readiness” is not about efficiency—it’s about prioritizing militarism over genuine public safety. When the Pentagon chooses to scale back digital defense education while expanding its war budget, it sends a clear message: what matters most is not protecting people, but preparing for combat.
The Air Force’s recent data breach, which exposed personal and healthcare information of service members, is a stark reminder that our greatest vulnerabilities may not come from a battlefield abroad—but from neglect and underinvestment at home.
Dismantling Oversight and Ethics
The same memo that cuts cybersecurity training also eliminates refresher courses on human trafficking prevention, privacy protection, and records management. These are not “distractions.” They are ethical safeguards designed to ensure the military operates responsibly and transparently.
When these trainings are sidelined, so too are the principles of accountability and human rights. Reducing education on trafficking and privacy signals a troubling shift: that ethical governance is optional when it gets in the way of “lethality.”
Automating Accountability
The Pentagon’s plan also calls for using artificial intelligence and automation to replace or eliminate some training requirements altogether. While innovation can play a role in national security, substituting human oversight with algorithms risks creating a self-reinforcing loop of automated militarism—one that removes moral judgment and human empathy from decision-making.
A peace economy calls for AI that serves humanity, not technology that accelerates conflict or conceals it behind code.
The Real Costs
The United States currently spends nearly $900 billion a year on the Pentagon, yet somehow there’s “no room” in the budget for cybersecurity and ethics training. These cuts don’t reflect fiscal responsibility—they reflect a war-first mindset that sacrifices genuine safety for combat readiness.
If even a fraction of those funds were redirected toward cybersecurity education, infrastructure resilience, and peacebuilding technology, the U.S. would be better protected from both external and internal threats.
Building a Peaceful Digital Future
The Peace Economy Project believes that true national strength lies not in warfighting capacity, but in the protection and empowerment of people.
We call for:
- Restoring cybersecurity and human rights training across all military branches.
- Reinvesting in civilian cybersecurity infrastructure—protecting schools, hospitals, and communities.
- Redirecting Pentagon funds toward ethical, transparent, and peace-oriented digital innovation.
National defense should not come at the expense of digital safety, human dignity, or accountability.
When training is cut in the name of war, everyone becomes less safe.
Join us in demanding a peace economy—one that defends people, not just power.
Follow our work at www.peaceeconomyproject.org and learn how you can help redirect resources from war to community wellbeing.
