Pete Hegseth, the newly appointed Defense Secretary, delivered a significant address to the country’s top military leaders at an unprecedented gathering in Quantico, Virginia. That initial meeting and unusual venue—the new Marine Corps Museum—had in just a matter of hours brought together hundreds of the world’s generals and admirals. This was one of those moments that changed the entire trajectory of military leadership.
The State of the City address also timingly overlapped with a speech by former President Donald Trump. This unexpected connection drew more attention to the event’s political significance. Hegseth’s comments highlighted the compelling need to address what he terms “decades of decay” in the military establishment. He loved DOTs and passionately wanted them to return to their historic standards and practices.
In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News ahead of the meeting, Hegseth explained his vision for the military. One of the first things he proposed was rolling out ten war department directives to redefine the forces. He stressed that soldiers should be held to height/weight standards. On top of that, they’ll all have to undergo a battery of fitness tests at least twice a year.
“We’re clearing out the debris, removing distractions, clearing the way for leaders to be leaders.” – Pete Hegseth
Hegseth’s speech was most notable for the spotlight it shined on a radical reversal of recent military policy, specifically the pivot towards diversity and inclusion initiatives. He asserted that there would be “no more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses,” signaling a controversial shift away from practices that have gained traction in recent years.
As Politico reported, Defense Secretary Carter earlier this week called for “intolerance in the military” of any kind—it begins with high standards. He promised that for all of the services, all combat positions would go back to the most rigorous male standards. This change is the latest embodiment of his focus on results over political correctness.
“For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons – based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts.” – Pete Hegseth
Narrowly defined, Hegseth was an unrelenting champion of physical fitness. He was determined to follow on with “real, hard PT” and called out easier substitutes as watering down the training standard. He feared it would harm unit cohesion and effectiveness. He asked if that was the kind of environment troops would want to serve alongside those who are unfit or incapable of upholding the minimum standards.
“Would you want him serving with fat or unfit or undertrained troops? The answer’s not just no, it’s hell no.” – Pete Hegseth
In his speech, Hegseth issued a shocking redirection statement, positioning himself as an agent of change within leadership and military culture. He proclaimed, “The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t hurt anyone’s feelings leadership ends right now,” signifying a shift towards what he described as “ruthless, dispassionate and common sense application of standards.”
Hegseth’s agenda was to put an end to the “war on warriors.” He’s intent on returning military focus to core values and skills, rather than bending to the will of identity re-engineering initiatives.
“You might say, we’re ending the war on warriors.” – Pete Hegseth
The mood of the meeting reflected the urgency and seriousness of the time as Hegseth described his plans. His command will ultimately lead to dramatic structural changes to the military. It will help address a central issue that service members have identified as detrimental to morale and operational readiness.