US War Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed ‘fat generals’ and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they do not support his agenda. Joining Hegseth was US President Donald Trump, who also delivered an address to the assembled admirals and generals in Quantico, Virginia that floated the idea of using deployments to US cities as “as training grounds for our military.”
The remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, and Trump, a former reality television star, had a made-for-TV element to them after top US military officials were summoned on short notice last week to the impromptu event. “Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department’,” Hegseth said as he kicked off the event. “But not anymore”
Addressing an auditorium full of top brass who flew in from around the world, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, including the top US general, who is Black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who is a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.
He promised sweeping changes to how the Pentagon handles discrimination complaints and investigates accusations of wrongdoing. He said the current system has top brass walking on “egg shells.” “If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said. “I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”
Hegseth said it was “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.” He said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks only and emphasized the importance of grooming standards. “The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.
Democrats broadly condemned the event, which they said sought to drive partisan politics deep into the US military.
Reuters
