The unusual meeting to which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of senior officers on short notice, pulling them from their posts around the world to Quantico, Virginia, ended up not as a showcase of major changes to the military but a recitation of familiar talking points from him and his boss, President Donald Trump.
The meeting did include, though, Trump talking about the successes he believes he’s had in sending the military into American cities, and a potential preview of more to come.
“I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard, but military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon," Trump said.
Speaking before Trump arrived at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico on Tuesday morning, Hegseth talked about a series of steps he is taking or has already implemented that essentially formalize his efforts to restore what he has called the “warrior ethos” and reverse what he termed “decades of decay” in the U.S. military.
Hegseth, a former major in the National Guard, lectured the several hundred generals and admirals in the room about how they must adhere to grooming and physical fitness standards and lead with an eye on more “lethality” and less “wokeness.” He also talked about removing some guardrails intended to protect troops, reviewing the military’s policies against bullying and hazing and allowing drill sergeants to put their hands on troops and use curse words if necessary during basic training again.
He said he would reinforce “gender-neutral” physical standards — the “highest male standard,” he said — referring to physical standards from the 1990s. Hegseth said those standards weren’t aimed at preventing women from serving, though he acknowledged that could be one effect.
“I want to be very clear about this: This is not about preventing women from serving,” he said. “If women can make it, excellent; if not, it is what it is." He added: “That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”
If the new standards don’t go over well, he said, that’s because they must be so high, and dismissed the idea that those who adhere to them are “toxic” leaders.
“Enforcing high standards is not toxic,” he said. “Leadership, leading war fighters toward the goals of high, gender-neutral and uncompromising standards in order to forge a cohesive, formidable and lethal Department of War is not toxic. It is our duty, consistent with our constitutional oath.” He added: “Real toxic leadership is endangering subordinates with low standards.”
The speech included a heavy dose of Hegseth’s world view, including a reference to one of his books, “The War on Warriors.”
Members of the audience, familiar with rules and norms for them to remain apolitical, sat largely stone-faced throughout the speech. Apart from the senior officers assembled, as many as 800, there were a mixture of political appointees from the White House and Pentagon and some select media outlets. The officers gave him a light round of applause after he finished.
The event at Quantico had raised alarm bells across the military and on Capitol Hill for its last-minute nature, as well as the sheer number of senior officers summoned to the Washington area, which was without modern precedent. The mystery surrounding the event had fueled concerns that Hegseth might test the officers' loyalty or that any resignations could stem from his announcements. While neither of those things happened, Trump and Hegseth turned it into a political event, even if the audience didn’t go along.
“The civilians have the right to give partisan speeches, even to military audiences, and the military have the duty not to respond in a partisan manner when that happens,” said Peter Feaver, a professor of political science at Duke University who is an expert in civil-military relations. “Today, the civilians exercised their rights, and the military did their duty.”
Feaver did note the controversial nature of some of the policy initiatives Hegseth discussed, including heightening physical standards for general and flag officers, whose jobs don’t necessarily require them to be physically fit.
“Once you reach the senior ranks, the military wants you to be fighting from the neck up and not from the neck down,” Feaver said.
Congressional Republicans haven’t weighed in publicly about the event, but one Republican staffer with insight on defense policy said it seemed like a waste of time and money to have demanded so many senior officers come in person for a political speech that could have been delivered over Zoom.
“With so many challenges out there, it is amazing the secretary of defense is focused on haircuts and [physical training] tests and flew hundreds of senior officers in on top of the government shutdown just for this,” the staffer said.
During the speech, Hegseth made it clear to those assembled that if they weren’t on the board, they could find the door.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” he said.
That admonition comes as Hegseth has already removed several senior officers, some black or female, and with little or no explanation. Hegseth has pledged to reduce the military’s officer corps by as much as 20 percent.
Hegseth did get some laughs at one point in the speech with a reference to a slang term popular both with the military and the online right.
“Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department. In other words, to our enemies, F, A, F, O,” he said, then added: “If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.”
Trump spoke after Hegseth, and for significantly longer, in a largely political speech similar to his usual addresses, but without the cheering crowd he’s usually able to play off.
As is typical for him, Trump departed frequently from his prepared remarks for digressions on a number of topics, which on Tuesday included: what he didn’t like about how his predecessors, former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, walk down stairs; tariffs; Biden’s use of an autopen; making Canada the 51st state; the kind of paper he wants to use when signing promotions; the “two N-words,” nuclear and the racial slur, “and you can’t use either of them”; and more.
Trump did also talk policy, including his plans to continue sending troops into American cities.
“Last month, I signed an executive order to provide training for quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control,” Trump said.
And he echoed one of the themes of Hegseth’s address, saying that the purpose of the military “is not to protect anyone’s feelings.”
“It’s to protect our republic, and it’s the republic that we dearly love. It’s to protect our country,” Trump said.
