Drawing on culture war hotspots, Hegseth says he transformed the US military: NPR

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivers a “State of the Force” address Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia.

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At a rally at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told hundreds of junior military officers and enlisted leaders that the Trump administration has achieved a cultural shift in the military.

“No fat people, no trans people, no bearded people, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors,” Hegseth said Wednesday. “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone tests added.”

Hegseth has vowed to reduce what he sees as a bloated general officer corps since taking office at the Pentagon. He said he had already achieved a 10% reduction and was aiming to reach 20%. But his firings so far, and the unconventional way he has addressed promotion boards to end the careers of some senior officers, have drawn bipartisan criticism. Most of the notable firings involved black or female officers, fired without explanation despite excellent service records.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released this statement:

“Throughout his tenure, Secretary Hegseth took countless reckless and partisan actions that harmed our military. He ended the careers of dozens of our most accomplished senior officers and refused to explain why. Today’s news should alarm all Americans.”

In his speech, Hegseth defended his policies and said retention and recruitment, including among women and minorities, had increased. He called the new force “color-blind” and merit-based. Hegseth has taken a long time criticizing the media for its reporting on troop morale and the depletion of munitions stocks during the war against Iran.

“A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally vilifies the troops and the historic mission they are undertaking is fundamentally un-American. It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s a betrayal, in fact,” he said.

Despite the war in Iran, now in its seventh month, the Pentagon has not held a press briefing since May, even with a hand-picked press corps more sympathetic to the Trump administration.

The event echoes a rally last year in which Hegseth gave an unusually partisan speech to hundreds of people. generals and admirals, despite the U.S. military’s core tradition of avoiding politics. The general officers remained almost completely silent as Hegseth spoke about the culture war issues mentioned in his book. The war against the warriors. He said the “State of the Force” address would be an annual event and he was no less partisan this year, accusing former generals and defense secretaries by name of weakening the military.