You had to be there.
If you were a U.S. military officer anywhere in the world above the rank of colonel, you were commanded by your civilian boss to show up on short notice for a “key leaders all-call” meeting at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, on the last day of September, with no explanation why.
The secrecy only fueled speculation. Was the nation going on a war footing? Would a major restructuring of military commands be announced? Would the assembled generals and admirals be forced to pledge their loyalty to the president instead of the Constitution?
It turns out that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a former National Guard Army major with only one short combat tour 20 years ago under his belt, wanted to lecture senior leaders with decades of combat experience and chests full of medals about what it means to embrace the “warrior ethos.”
And, he said, it begins with branding.
“Welcome to the War Department, because the era of the Department of Defense is over,” Hegseth began, pacing back and forth in front of a huge American flag backdrop reminiscent of the opening scene in the movie Patton. “From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win.”
For the next 45 minutes, Hegseth gave a polished performance befitting his experience as a former Fox News personality. He laid out his vision of a muscular, macho, masculine-dominated fighting force, where weaklings and fatties will be mustered out, women are welcome only if they can match men in physical strength and stamina, and “males who think they’re female” are not welcome at all.
“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” he said, signing an order that henceforth “every designated combat arms position returns to the highest male standard only because this job is life-and-death … If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”
Hegseth’s speech was peppered with bumper sticker aphorisms:
“To ensure peace, we must prepare for war.”
“Either you protect your people and your sovereignty, or you will be subservient to something or someone.”
“The best way to take care of troops is to give them good leaders.”
“The enemy always gets a vote.”
“War does not care if you’re a man or a woman, neither does the enemy.”
“We fight not because we hate what’s in front of us, we fight because we love what’s behind us.”
But the thrust of Hegseth’s message was that with every ounce of power vested in him as the civilian leader of the Pentagon, he plans to effect a top-to-bottom transformation of the culture of the military, which he argued has been corrupted by a generation of “foolish and reckless political leaders” who turned the War Department into the “woke department.”
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship, no more division distraction or gender delusions, no more debris. As I’ve said before, and will say again, we are done with that s***.”
One of Hegseth’s first actions when he took over command of the Pentagon eight months ago was to fire all the services’ top judge advocate general officers, lawyers whose job was to advise senior commanders on military law and how to avoid committing war crimes.
Hegseth’s goal is to unburden commanders who he feels are hamstrung by bureaucratic rules and regulations that distract from the mission of preparing to fight and win wars.
“I call it the ‘no more walking on eggshells policy,'” he said. “We are overhauling an inspector general process, the IG, that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues, and poor performers in the driver’s seat.”
“No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complainants, no more smearing reputations, no more endless waiting, no more legal limbo, no more sidetracking careers,” he continued.
In his zeal to root out any vestiges of diversity, Hegseth seeks to promote the opposite: an exclusivity in the form of a military culture that is separate and distinct from the rest of America.
“You are not civilians. You are set apart for a distinct purpose … You kill people and break things for a living. You are not politically correct and don’t necessarily belong always in polite society,” he said.
“We, as a department, need to stop acting and thinking like civilians and get back to basics,” Hegseth added, which he said begins with grooming standards.
“The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more ‘beard-os.’ The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done … We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards,” he said. “If you want a beard, you can join Special Forces. If not, then shave.”
Hegseth envisions a lean, mean fighting machine, where the men are clean-shaven, their physiques are perfect, and working out is a daily requirement.
“It’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he lamented before making a comment that may have made some of the officers seated before him squirm. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look.”
Hegseth wants commanders who are free to yell and curse and won’t be dinged for every little misstep.
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, ‘Don’t hurt anyone’s feelings’ leadership ends right now,” he said.
“People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” he added. “You, we, as senior leaders, need to end the poisonous culture of risk aversion.”
And Hegseth wants to return to a time when basic training was “scary, tough, and disciplined,” with drill sergeants who are free to put the fear of God in new recruits.
“Yes, they can shark attack, they can toss bunks, they can swear, and yes, they can put their hands on a recruit. We’re undertaking a full review of the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying, and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing,” Hegseth continued.
To accomplish his goal, Hegseth said, he had no choice but to fire some of the most senior officers who served under former President Joe Biden, including the chairman and other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“It’s nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create, or even benefited from that culture,” he said. “My approach has been simple: When in doubt, assess the situation, follow your gut, and if it’s the best for the military, make a change. We all serve at the pleasure of the president every single day.”
Hegseth hasn’t ruled out more firings in the senior ranks and said every officer has a choice to either embrace the changes or step aside.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” he said.
To the extent that there has been pushback on Hegseth’s vision, it has been over the question of whether the so-called “highest male standard” of physical fitness requirement for women in ground combat roles is appropriate.
While Hegseth called female officers and noncommissioned officers “the absolute best in the world,” he insisted that “any job that requires physical power to perform in combat” must have standards that are “high and gender neutral.”
With modern warfare moving away from big tank battles toward drones, cyber, and artificial intelligence, some are worried that requiring women to match men in every physical endeavor sends the wrong message.
“We have to understand it’s not only a question of brawn, it’s also a question of brainpower,” former Defense Secretary William Cohen said on CNN. “We now have women who can fly our most sophisticated aircraft. They can fly our drones. They can sail our biggest ships. Women compose almost 17, 17.5% of our military. Are they to be discouraged from serving in capacities where they can move up in rank and be seen as leaders in the future?”
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Retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, a former F/A-18 pilot and veteran of 89 combat missions over Afghanistan, told CNN, “When I flew my combat missions, there was not a set male standard and a female standard for flying an aircraft onto the back of an aircraft carrier. You can either do it or you can’t.”
“When we opened combat jobs to women, those of us that were in those jobs wanted one standard to be set. And it was,” McGrath said. “Pete Hegseth still has a lot to learn, I think, unfortunately.”
Jamie McIntyre is the Washington Examiner‘s senior writer on national security.
