Pete Hegseth, the self-styled “Secretary of War,” led a panel discussion at the Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington, D.C., which included service secretaries, in which he offered his “vision” of the Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM) over the next two years. He was not exactly coherent: “…we’re still iterating, we’re still adapting, we’re still learning, and we’re moving faster and faster because we’re doing it. We understand how to do it better with each iteration.”

Not mentioned by Defense One, which covered the event straight, is that, somehow, a number of protesters got into the room, and intervened in the discussion, denouncing Hegseth from the floor. They shouted condemnations of the U.S. war with Iran, and referenced the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reported Defense News. “You’re not a warrior, you’re a coward,” one person yelled, adding, “Children in Gaza are starving!” Another shouted, “You’re killing my family.”

The final protester yelled, “The world f——- hates you.” “You’re a f——- war criminal. You’re a Nazi. We’ll see you at the goddamn Hague. You should be ashamed of yourself,” as security pushed him outside of the packed ballroom. Hegseth apparently made a joke after the first interventions, but reportedly got irritated as they went on. “(It) Appears we have a bit of a tactic,” he said.

As for AUTOWARCOM, it seems that the speakers didn’t reveal much. It’s supposed to activate by Oct. 1, 2027, but in the meantime, the services are supposed to stand up their own component commands. Only the Army has made an announcement on that, so far.