War Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed on Tuesday that he took a secret trip to the Middle East to visit U.S. troops taking part in Operation Epic Fury.
At a morning press briefing alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth said the trip took place over the weekend, but wouldn’t divulge specifics about the location for reasons of operational security.
“Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit our troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury. We were on the ground in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day. Suffice to say, the trip was an honor,” he said.
Hegseth heaped praise on the service members he met, saying they represented the best of the United States. At one point, he observed the interception of two Iranian missiles.
“I witnessed sheer competency. I watched a private first class confidently calling out an enemy missile trajectory to a room full of officers. Everyone focused. The room was locked in. Two enemy missiles, successfully shot down,” he recalled.
At one point, he put on a headset and personally spoke with pilots about to take off to strike Iranian targets.
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In Hegseth’s telling, morale was high among those taking part in the operation, with the only demand being more bombs.
“I met a junior airman as the sun was going down and chill was setting on the tarmac, who, when asked what they needed, she simply looked up at me with a sly smile on her face and said, ‘More bombs, sir, and bigger bombs,'” he recalled. “We will happily oblige.”
