In fairness the SECWAR is hardly a computing expert.

But in this case the SECWAR has been properly advised. If anything it's astonishing that a program whereby China-based Microsoft engineers telling U.S.-based Microsoft engineers specific commands to type in ever made it off the proposal page inside Microsoft, accelerated time-to-market or not.

It defeats the entire purpose of many of the NIST security controls that demand things like U.S.-cleared personnel for government networks, and Microsoft knew those were a thing because that was the whole point to the "digital escort" (a U.S. person who was supposed to vet the Chinese engineer's technical work despite apparently being not technical enough to have just done it themselves).

Some ideas "sell themselves", ideas like these do the opposite.

The United States does not have a Secretary of War, and has not since 1947.

To be fair, it's not like Hegseth is a super high-signal source. Hegseth says lots of stuff, some of which are even true!