From DAS to WAS:  Secretary Hegseth’s Acquisition Overhaul and What It Means for Industry

Covington & Burling – On November 7, 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used a speech at the National War College to unveil a Department of War memorandum titled “Transforming the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Urgently Needed Capabilities to Our Warriors.” This memorandum, referred to throughout as the “WAS Memo”—formally redesignates the Defense Acquisition System as the Warfighting Acquisition System, places the acquisition enterprise on a “wartime footing,” and sets forth the governance, structural, and process reforms that will shape how DoW capabilities are acquired and fielded.