By Evaristo Lara
Under the focus of ensuring the security of the nation, even beyond its borders, Hung Cao, acting Secretary of the Navy, took on the challenge of building more warships.
The Vietnam-born official seems to have perfectly understood President Donald Trump’s desire to accelerate the construction of ships to reinforce the US navy, belief that was presumably not shared by businessman John Phelan, which ended up costing him his dismissal as head of the Department of the Navy.
A couple of days into his new role in the Navy, Hung Cao He shared a video on social networks detailing the priorities directed towards his subordinates.
“The first thing is to take care of their needs and make sure they can accomplish the mission. Second, We are going to build ships. We need the platforms necessary to defend this country. And finallyit’s about defending the homeland. Our mission has not changed and we will continue with it,” he said.
It should be noted that, since the appointment of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, a clean-up appears to have begun in the armed forces and more than 30 senior military officers have already been removed from their positions on the grounds of not conforming to the vision of the White House.
Regarding John Phelan, it is presumed that he was not in favor of supporting the idea of building a new generation of warships in practically record time as Donald Trump wants when proposing to have them ready in 2028.
Although he tried to explain that the assembly times did not fit the vision of the New York magnate, it was more convenient for the latter to replace him and move forward with his opinion.
This is how the strong card presented by Pete Hegseth was Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain who served in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, a strong argument to add him as a new member of the cabinet.
However, In addition to billions of dollars, building more warships takes time and although he promises to achieve it, the clock is already ticking against him.
Keep reading:
• Trump thanks John Phelan for his “exceptional” work, and says he is “intelligent, firm and respected by everyone”
• Secretary of the Navy is dismissed after months of disputes in the Pentagon and in the midst of the war against Iran
