Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks with top military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico Sept. 30 in Quantico, Virginia. In an unprecedented meeting, nearly 800 generals, admirals and their senior enlisted leaders were quickly dispatched to one location from around the world.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering troops to watch or read his speech last month in Quantico, Va., when he declared there was no more “woke” military, denounced “fat generals” and ordered military women to meet the “highest male standards” in physical fitness.
The memo, obtained by NPR, asks service members to complete the “Warrior Ideals Challenge,” which includes a link to a video and updated policy memos, by the end of the month. Policy memos detail his plans to improve physical fitness, standards of care and military readiness.
The memorandum states, “All commanders must document the accomplishment of military integrity objectives in a memorandum for record.”
Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokesman, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said in an email: “The Minister's speech was directed to the entire force and this note only reinforces that guidance.”
On Sept. 30, Hegseth spoke to hundreds of generals and admirals who had been ordered by commands around the world to come to the auditorium at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
“The era of the Ministry of Defense is over”
Walking back and forth across the stage with a huge American flag in the background, Hegseth declared, “Today we end the war with warriors.” He said that “the era of the Department of Defense is over,” said the new name would be the Department of War, and indicated that the Pentagon would move to a more aggressive culture.
Hegseth, a 45-year National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, said the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historical innovation.”
“Frankly, it's tiring to look at battle formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” Hegseth said.
“Today is another day of liberation, the liberation of America's warriors,” Hegseth said. “You are not politically correct and do not always belong to polite society. We are purpose-built.”
While Hegseth spoke, the generals and admirals sat stone-faced. And then they continued that stoic stance when President Trump then addressed them.
“I've never walked into a room this quiet before,” Trump said. “If you want to applaud, you applaud. You can do whatever you want.”
But a source not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that before both speeches and before the cameras were rolled, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Cain told the assembled officers that they should treat the speeches as if they were in the Union, where the Joint Chiefs also show no emotion, maintaining their traditional nonpartisan stance. military.
