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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated Tuesday that the U.S. military needs to address “decades of decline,” speaking to a rare assembly of hundreds of senior officers summoned from around the globe near Washington. His 45-minute speech comes amid ongoing controversy for the military, both domestically and internationally, as President Donald Trump has deployed troops to two Democratic-led cities and authorized lethal actions against small suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
Trump, who has undergone a rare purge of high-ranking officers since taking office, has also authorized strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and Tehran-supported Yemeni rebels.
“Today’s speech is about correcting years of deterioration, some visible, others hidden,” Hegseth said, standing in front of a large American flag. “Poor political leadership set us off course, steering us the wrong way. We became the ‘Woke Department.’ But that ends now.”
He cited concerns over climate change, bullying, “toxic” leadership, and promotions based on race or gender as signs of ideological issues within the department. Hegseth also criticized the Pentagon’s inspector general, which is investigating his conduct, claiming the office “has been weaponized, pushing complainers, ideologues, and underperformers into control.”
Later in the morning, Trump was scheduled to address the gathered top military officials.
Amid questions about why all senior leaders were convened in one location, Vice President JD Vance assured reporters it was “not unusual at all” and dismissed the significance of the gathering as “just a normal meeting.” The Pentagon had only announced the day before that Hegseth would be briefing senior military leaders, fueling speculation about a major announcement.
In May, Hegseth ordered significant reductions in the number of general and flag officers, including at least a 20% cut in active-duty four-star generals and admirals. This followed an earlier plan from February to cut civilian employees by at least 5%.
Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has also dismissed top officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired unexpectedly in February. Other top officials replaced this year include Navy and Coast Guard leaders, the heads of the NSA and DIA, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a NATO-bound Navy admiral, and three senior military lawyers.
Hegseth defended these dismissals, emphasizing, “It’s nearly impossible to change a culture with the same individuals who helped create or benefited from that culture.” Earlier this year, U.S. forces launched nearly two months of strikes against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as well as three key Iranian nuclear sites.
U.S. military deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, purportedly to handle civil unrest and crime, continue, with additional plans in Portland, Memphis, and possibly other cities.
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