In early April, after Pete Hegseth returned from a trip to Panama, the last person to step off the plane before the defense secretary himself was a colonel wearing slacks and a pullover.
This was Ricky Buria, Hegseth’s junior military assistant and one of the only holdovers from the last secretary’s team.
Buria, who has sharp black hair with a gray streak in the front, has gained unique status in the last three months — not only in the secretary’s inner circle but perhaps the entire Pentagon. He was appointed under the last administration but has rapidly gained Hegseth’s trust, and with it newfound power.
Last week, Buria resigned his post in the Marine Corps and is now transitioning into a new role as one of Hegseth’s senior civilian advisors. Multiple sources who spoke for this story said he’s being considered for a higher position, potentially even chief of staff.
And yet, his ascendance remains a mystery to many current and former defense officials, some of whom were allowed to speak anonymously for this story to avoid retaliation.
Over the last week, Hegseth has fired two handpicked aides and longtime friends, ostensibly over a leaks investigation, which they deny. His chief of staff, Joe Kasper, will also soon transition to a new role, Hegseth said Tuesday.
In the meantime, Buria has gone from carrying the secretary’s bags to now attending meetings with foreign counterparts and giving Hegseth advice on matters from personnel to media strategy. Some current and former officials are wondering whether he’s qualified for the new job, and how a secretary so intent on removing Biden-era appointees came to trust one so much.
“Proximity is power,” a source familiar with the internal dynamics said. “He was around the secretary more than anybody else.”
‘Body man’
Buria started the year as the secretary’s junior military assistant, a post he took on last April for Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin.
The role — abbreviated as “JMA” — is a prestigious assignment, often reserved for promising young officers destined for successful careers in the military services. But in practice much of the work is procedural.
Multiple sources described the job as a “body man,” tasked with shepherding the secretary’s documents and equipment nearly at all times. If Hegseth needs to take a call, for example, it’s Buria’s responsibility to get him the phone.
That’s where the role ends, though. Unlike more senior military or civilian aides, the JMA doesn’t usually shape the substance of the secretary’s work.
Two former defense officials described Buria as apolitical, industrious and professional, even if he at times showed interest in more senior jobs.
“He would have preferred other roles to the junior military assistant,” one former official said of Buria. “That much was clear.”
Still, the former official continued, working directly with the secretary of defense is a competitive environment that rewards ambitious people. It’s normal for those on the team, even at more junior levels, to want more.
His opportunity to do so came in January, when Hegseth was narrowly confirmed as Austin’s replacement.
Hegseth entered the job with no experience in government and a relatively junior military career, retiring as a major. As a media personality, he often argued that general and flag officers had themselves become political, obsessed with diversity under the Biden administration.
In February, when Hegseth began firing such officers — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations and Air Force vice chief of staff — he also removed his own senior military assistant, who was first appointed by Austin.
Buria survived the firings, and in a highly unusual move became the acting senior military assistant, normally reserved for three-star officers.
Heavy lifting
At the time, the rationale behind keeping him in the post was that Buria was relatively junior and the secretary couldn’t fire everyone from the former team.
Hegseth later tapped Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, commander of the Eighth Army in South Korea, for the role. By serving in the position temporarily, Buria was filling an urgent gap.
“Ricky was only the SMA because he was the only guy standing,” a defense official said.
Still, the new role struck others as odd for a secretary who was firing so many officials promoted during the last administration.
“The biggest thing to note here is just how unusual it is for a Biden appointee, albeit a military officer, to be moved into this position,” the first source said.
That concern grew while Buria became closer to Hegseth. As an assistant, Buria traveled with the secretary almost everywhere. And in Hegseth’s many workout photos posted online, Buria is often right beside him — running nearby in one, standing behind an American flag in another.
In private, too, Buria took on more of an advisory role. The secretary’s senior military assistant is a crucial position, tasked with helping shape military strategy and serving as an ambassador to the Joint Chiefs, America’s board of top military officers.
Notwithstanding, Buria was offering input on a range of issues from personnel policy to public affairs to day-to-day operational plans, two sources said. In the secretary’s calls with U.S. combatant commanders, Buria would share ideas on military strategy, at times to their annoyance.
“When he was conveying orders from the secretary to the COCOMs and to the Joint Staff, there was a lot of friction,” said the first source.
During Austin’s time as secretary, Buria wouldn’t be in the room for most sensitive meetings, including those with foreign counterparts. That’s since changed.
On the trip to Panama, Buria was present for talks with the country’s government, including as the two sides discussed access to the Panama Canal. When El Salvador’s defense minister visited Washington last week, Buria sat at the main table, two seats from Hegseth.
Easter message
Buria’s status has risen so quickly in part out of need. Hegseth’s team has already been thin while waiting for new officials to be appointed or confirmed. Then, last week, the secretary fired his deputy chief of staff and a senior adviser, alongside the deputy secretary of defense’s chief of staff.
During a Tuesday interview with Fox & Friends, Hegseth’s former network show, he confirmed his own chief of staff is also soon changing jobs.
Multiple defense officials said Buria is being considered as a replacement, though some doubted that the White House personnel office — which has final say on staffing and vets appointees for disloyalty — would tap someone from the last administration to such a key job.
Others questioned whether a person so junior could handle the role. The chief of staff is one of the Pentagon’s most senior positions, advising the secretary on everything from policy to managing the media to working with Congress. Those who enter the job often have political acumen and extensive time in Washington.
Late last week, Buria began an early retirement from the Marine Corps, entering terminal leave that will last through June. Normally, officers have a “cooling off” period before they can enter civilian roles, which can span years for those who held more senior ranks. That said, the requirement can be waived, and Buria is already transitioning into an advisory position.
A spokesperson for Hegseth did not reply to questions asking whether Buria had already entered the job, who the current chief of staff is and whether Buria is a potential replacement. Buria couldn’t be reached for comment.
“I have never seen one of the military assistants make that shift” from a uniformed to a civilian adviser, the former defense official said.
On Sunday, two days after beginning leave, Buria opened an account on the social media app X, where many of the secretary’s advisers spend the day posting messages promoting their work at the Pentagon.
He has since reposted messages from President Donald Trump, Hegseth and several administration accounts that often target the media. Some labeled reports that the White House may replace Hegseth as “lies.”
On Sunday, Buria liked several messages posted for Easter, including one from his boss.
“He is Risen!” Hegseth wrote.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
