'It was humiliating' — ex-US Army Secretary says Washington lags behind Ukraine in war innovations
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Former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll sees significant shortcomings in the U.S. military's ability to adapt to modern warfare compared with Ukraine's rapid innovations, he said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published on Oct. 4.
"When you would see what Ukraine's budget was and how small it was relative to ours and how, despite that, they had better weapons of war, it was a wake-up call," said Driscoll in his first-ever interview following his resignation on Aug. 31, after alleged friction with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
"In some ways, it was humiliating seeing how quickly a nation could change when it needed to," added Driscoll, who has long praised Ukraine's advances in drone technology and visited the country in 2025 as part of Washington-led peace talks.
During his time at the White House, Driscoll was a strong advocate for modernizing the U.S. Army through investments in counter-drone systems and the creation of the Unmanned Assault Battalion, a "drones-first" 600-soldier unit that cooperated with Ukrainian advisers.
However, Driscoll's ambitious modernization plans allegedly faced opposition from Hegseth.
"Once he (Hegseth) makes a decision, there's nothing I can do about it," said Driscoll.
"I don't have to like it," he added.
The two officials promoted different visions for strengthening the U.S. Army. While Driscoll focused on adjusting to the new realities of modern warfare, Hegseth has promoted a "warrior culture" centered on more traditional methods, such as soldiers' physical fitness.
After Driscoll's departure from the White House, the U.S. Army ordered the Unmanned Assault Battalion to return to being a standard airborne infantry unit.
"President Trump came into his second term with a military that had been very poorly prepared for modern war," said Driscoll.
"I viewed my role as to advocate as hard as I could for leaders who I thought were good," he added.
