Don't forget, he already had a border with a NATO country before all of this. It's called Poland. No UN Peacekeeping force needed. Especially when Belorussia exists.

Putins own actions also caused new NATO borders to be created due to Finland joining. So if his goal was to rage against NATO he did a poor job of it (much like how people ignore all of those Eastern European nations would have a very good reason to join NATO). A NATO patrolled DMZ would also be just as good at keeping UKRAINE from doing anything just as much as it keeps Russia from doing anything, and now their lack of NATO membership isnt really a big deal. Honestly, Trumps proposed peace deal with probably the best outcome for Ukraine while allowing Russia to save what little face they have left, even if it pisses off both the NAFO types and the Vatniks.

And on a wide note, it is part of why I do actually like Hegseth for SecDef. It was obvious to me from some of the interviews I watched that he understands the true nature of war that a lot of people forgot (or told themselves to forget) because it is brutal and they dont like it: Peace is rarely achieved in war through documents and negotiations. Peace is achieved through crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentations of their women. And we in the collective West have allowed ourselves to become deluded into believing that we can diplomacy our way out of all things, and is why we have allowed our militaries to become social experiments instead of lethal weapons. Hegseth understands all of that, and is ready and willing to take a hatchet to the entire DOD to turn it into a weapon again, and do it quick because he knows the threat from China is paramount and he has until 2027 to get it done (at least according to Xi's sabre rattling).

Hopefully, he starts with the Navy and the Marines. They would be the two most important in a potential war with China, and while the Air Force would also be important there they have less issues in their warfighting arm compared to the other two.