WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the Army to create a new military occupational specialty focused dedicated to cooking, cleaning, child care, emotional support and other domestic duties currently interfering with what Pentagon officials called “prime lethality hours.”
The new career field, known as TradWife Operations, is intended to give soldiers what Hegseth described as a more “Air Force-like experience.”
“We've spent decades asking warfighters to perform two jobs,” Hegseth said. “Win wars, and then come home and do the laundry, remember birthdays, and figure out where the kids are."
He paused.
"Then I realized, ‘That's a woman's job.’”
According to planning documents, the new career field will include several specialties.
The 69A TradWife Officer will manage household operations for senior leaders, including schedules, social obligations, family events and ensuring commanders never have to learn the names of their children’s teachers.
“She basically does what a great first sergeant does,” said one Army official. “Except with casseroles.”
Officials considered calling them commanders but rejected the title.
“We didn’t want anyone getting confused about who’s actually in charge,” the official said.
The bulk of the force will consist of 69W WorkWives, who will provide emotional support, calendar management, office snacks and carefully calibrated praise to officers and NCOs without generating additional BAH obligations.
“It’s not fraternization,” one Pentagon official said. “It’s relationship-enabled readiness.”
Army planners said WorkWives could eventually be assigned at company level.
“If the commander has a bad day, she tells him he’s doing great,” the official said. “If he has a good day, she tells him he’s doing great.”
The 69S BarracksMom will focus on junior enlisted soldiers.
