U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump addressed a meeting of top generals and admirals gathered at Quantico, Virginia, this morning, a unique meeting called last week by Hegseth to celebrate the ostensibly new “warrior spirit” of the Trump Administration. They both cheered changing the name of the Department of Defense to the “Department of War,” a decision announced by an executive order, though Constitutional experts assert such a change in name requires Congressional action.
Hegseth’s theme was “the warrior ethos.” He spoke for the first hour, ranting about the destruction of the “woke” military created by Biden and others, who hired and appointed leaders based on race and gender rather than “merit.” He said that the word “toxic” had been used to mean “bullying and hazing” and was no longer to be tolerated, referring this to “destructive ideologies that are anathema to the Constitution and the laws of nature and nature’s God, as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence.” Instead, the new military policy will “empower and enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing.” Under the “Woke Department,” promotions and assignments were based on “diversity” rather than quality and performance. Now, he said, it is “out with the Chiarellis [Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army Vice Chief of Staff], the McKenzies [Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of Central Command] and the Millies [Gen. Mark Millie, Chief of the General Staff].”
Hegseth said he was also investigating the office of the Inspector General and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, which, he said, were responsible for the “poisonous culture of risk aversion.” He also denounced beards, insisting on being clean shaven to “look professional,” and denounced “fat troops and fat generals and admirals.”
Hegseth said he will give a speech in October about innovation in the military, and will give another speech about the role of the military to defend U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
He ended his speech with a whoop: “Move out and draw fire! Because we are the War Department!”
In a grand manner, Hegseth then introduced U.S. President Donald Trump, as the traditional “Hail to the Chief” played. Trump repeated Hegseth’s praise of the end of “woke” policies and the importance of the name-change to Department of War. He then reviewed his claimed resolution of seven wars, with the eighth (the Gaza peace plan) depending on Hamas signing on. He said he still wants to end the war in Ukraine and is disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s role. He bragged that, when one of Putin’s subordinates referred to nuclear weapons, he [Trump] had deployed a nuclear sub (or two), the “most lethal weapon,” to the Russian coast. He claimed that U.S. subs are “undetectable,” but that the Russian subs are not.
He said the recruitment rates are way up, for all the services, including police and firefighters.
His main point was “merit,” which he said was almost his favorite word, after “tariffs.” He praised the military build-up, the planes, the Golden Dome, complaining that “we don’t build ships anymore” except submarines, but we will again, saying he is considering building battleships again. He bragged that the military budget for 2026 is $1 trillion, and that there will be a 3.8% pay raise for all those in the military.
Trump praised the deployment of troops to the cities of the U.S., praising Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for its work, adding that he has changed the policy that ICE officials were not allowed to respond to people harassing them ("If they spit, you hit,” he said he had told them). He also announced that he is creating a “Quick Reaction Force” for domestic defense ("Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force") to combat “all enemies foreign and domestic.” He ranted that his tariff policy is “making us rich again,” and is particularly proud that Europe has now agreed to spend 5% on defense, and that they are buying U.S. weapons to give to Ukraine. He said NATO leaders were “great people” who had been woken up by Putin.
He closed: “Fight fight fight, win win win.”
