Understanding Decisions Made in the Pentagon

A choice made within the Pentagon can often seem worlds apart from the soldier who actually has to implement it. Sometimes, those consequences can even be a matter of life or death.

There’s no shortage of individuals in Washington who claim they know how to make decisions. But what every soldier truly needs is assurance that the person making those decisions grasps the impact once the order leaves the office. Those with experience often wish that someone several ranks up had a better understanding of what they were really demanding.

I learned that firsthand during my time in Ganjgal. My team was pinned down, taking heavy fire, while desperately calling for support that never arrived. I was stationed at the patrol rally point, listening to the chaos unfold over the radio. I requested permission to go to their aid but was refused. I asked again. And again. Finally, Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez and I made the decision to go anyway.

I still feel that sense of anger and helplessness knowing that brave soldiers were fighting for their lives while decisions affecting them were being made so far removed from the battlefield. I often wished someone higher up could’ve been in my position, understanding the weight of responsibility I felt for those alongside me and how their choices had become my problems to resolve.

Experiences like that really reshape how a person views readiness, training, and equipment. When your life depends on it, readiness isn’t just a slide presentation anymore. Training isn’t just a checkbox when you’ve seen its critical role in combat. And soldiers aren’t merely digits on a spreadsheet when you’ve led them into battle and faced the responsibility of ensuring their safe return. Civilian leaders of the Army might never sit on that radio, but they should be aware of who is on the other end. Sean Parnell understands this well, having experienced both realms.

At 24, Sean served as an infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division, guiding soldiers through a demanding 16-month deployment in Afghanistan where he faced significant combat and sustained injuries. He returned home with two Bronze Stars, including one for valor, and a Purple Heart. Those combat injuries halted what he envisioned as a continued Army career, and he lives with those effects today.

Despite that, Sean didn’t walk away from military service. He recognizes that serving doesn’t end with deployment, having navigated that transition himself. Today, from a new perspective, he sees the institution closely. As the Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, he’s in the rooms where some of the most pressing decisions are made. He was present in the National Military Command Center during Operation Midnight Hammer and stood beside the Secretary at the commencement of Operation Epic Fury. That combination is essential: a leader who remembers the experience of executing orders on the battlefield while now being part of the deliberation for critical military choices.

The Secretary of the Army holds a civilian leadership role, and solely having combat experience doesn’t necessarily equip someone to manage an organization as extensive and complex as the U.S. Army. The role encompasses dealing with Congress, budgets, modernization, acquisitions, recruitment, readiness, and an enormous bureaucracy. Sean has taken on that responsibility, leading the department’s Recruiting Task Force and chairing the Afghanistan Special Review, among other demanding assignments. He knows the ins and outs of the building – both where it operates effectively and where it falls short.

Those qualifications are impressive, indeed. Yet what truly distinguishes him is something that can’t be conveyed through a briefing book. Sean knows the real meaning of readiness to those soldiers who rely on it. He gets the importance of equipment for troops on the ground. And he understands how a plan crafted in Washington interacts with the actual chaos of battle.

No matter what decisions the next Secretary of the Army will have to face, those choices will ultimately be carried out by soldiers who must grapple with the repercussions. Sean Parnell has experienced that reality from both sides, and even after all his country has demanded of him, he’s still ready to give more.