Select Language:
WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth depicted the U.S. military Tuesday as overweight, overly preoccupied with liberal “woke” ideas, and in urgent need of reform to prioritize being fierce “war fighters.”
During a hastily arranged speech to hundreds of generals and admirals gathered in Virginia from around the globe, he promoted a plan to reverse what he called “decades of decline.”
Standing before a large American flag matching his pocket square, Hegseth criticized what he called “foolish rules of engagement” on the battlefield and “obese troops” back home, urging the military to look back to 1990 standards for inspiration.
He emphasized the importance of a force focused on lethality rather than racial or gender diversity, and called for an end to soldiers “walking on eggshells” due to fear of complaints.
“This speech is about repairing decades of decay, some visible and some concealed,” Hegseth told the audience of senior officers. “Leaders have set the wrong course, and we’ve lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department.’ But that’s over now,” he declared.
Hegseth reiterated proposals to reshape the military, referencing previous statements. He demanded stricter grooming standards, including a one-year limit on shaving waivers, which are used disproportionately by Black troops, and insisted that the highest male fitness standards apply across all combat units.
“Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral, and high—if not, they’re just suggestions, and suggestions that could get our sons and daughters killed,” he said.
He also condemned soldiers who are out of shape, stating, “It’s exhausting to see fat troops in formation or even in the Pentagon hallways. That’s totally unacceptable from top brass too.”
Hegseth announced he would implement a “no more walking on eggshells” policy, eliminating frivolous, anonymous, and repeated complaints, and protecting reputations.
He criticized the Pentagon inspector general, which recently investigated his use of the civilian messaging app Signal for classified information, claiming the office has been “weaponized” and needs a major overhaul.
He emphasized that the old rules limiting when force can be used—rules meant to prevent civilian casualties—are now outdated.
“We are authorizing our warfighters to decisively hunt, intimidate, and eliminate enemies of the United States. No more politically correct, overbearing rules of engagement—just common sense, maximum lethality, and full authority for our service members,” he proclaimed.
This approach has been recently demonstrated in the Caribbean, where U.S. forces have reportedly killed more than a dozen individuals in strikes on suspected drug traffickers operating in boats.
The Trump administration has not publicly released evidence confirming that those targeted were smugglers or posed an immediate threat.
Hegseth told any officers who oppose these ideas that they should resign.
“If my words today trouble your conscience, the honorable thing to do is step down,” he challenged. The Trump administration has already dismissed several top officers this year, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, who was fired unexpectedly in February, along with leaders of the Navy and Coast Guard.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
