Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a series of directives Tuesday aimed at purging the “woke garbage” that has infected the U.S. military for years, and he specifically said all service members, including the highest-ranking officers, will be required to meet weight requirements and pass physical fitness tests twice a year.
In a rare speech to hundreds of generals and admirals gathered at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, Mr. Hegseth was joined on stage by President Trump.
The two men outlined fundamental shifts in how the military functions at the ground level, including removing “fat generals and admirals,” revamping how internal complaints are handled inside the armed forces, and using military personnel in American cities.
Mr. Hegseth spoke of the need for a broad culture shift across the military, which critics, including powerful Democrats on Capitol Hill, immediately decried as exceedingly dangerous.
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses,” said Mr. Hegseth, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “No more climate change worship.”
Mr. Hegseth said the policies he announced are designed to clear out the “debris” that has crept into the military. That junk, he said, includes overly broad definitions of “bullying,” “hazing” and “toxic” leadership.
He ordered the military services to review the definitions of such terms. He said they have been weaponized inside the Pentagon and used to force out otherwise qualified people for political reasons.
The Pentagon chief told anyone who disagrees with his approach to “do the honorable thing and resign.”
Mr. Trump seemed to go further than before in laying out his vision for what the U.S. military can and should do domestically. Having already ordered active-duty personnel to Los Angeles, plus National Guard troops to other American cities, Mr. Trump said those deployments should essentially be training missions.
“I told Pete,” referring to Mr. Hegseth, “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” the president said.
Mr. Trump again promised that his administration will always have the backs of service members.
“Together over the next few years, we’re going to make our military stronger, tougher, fiercer, faster than it has ever been before,” the president said. His overarching approach is to try to “solve wars” rather than have the U.S. military fight and win them.
Changing the culture
In a nearly 45-minute address, Mr. Hegseth said he is targeting a culture of “risk aversion.” He said the Defense Department, which Mr. Trump has proposed renaming the War Department, will overhaul the inspector general’s office and fix equal opportunity processes that helped spur “frivolous complaints” that slowed the military’s warfighting mission.
Taken together, they could mark a major change in how the Pentagon handles internal complaints, investigations and disciplinary procedures. Many of the details were unclear.
Mr. Hegseth said the changes are intended to “liberate” commanders across the ranks.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Mr. Hegseth said. “We would thank you for your service. But I suspect, I know, the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite.”
He added, “You are hereby liberated to be an apolitical, hard-charging, no-nonsense constitutional leader that you joined the military to be.”
Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Mr. Trump’s comments specifically represented “a dangerous assault on our democracy, treating our own communities as war zones and our citizens as enemies.”
He blasted Mr. Hegseth’s “ultimatum” to military officials to accept the changes or resign.
“That demand is profoundly dangerous. It signals that partisan loyalty matters more than capability, judgment, or service to the Constitution, undermining the principle of a professional, nonpartisan military,” Mr. Reed said in a statement.
Focus on fitness
Perhaps Mr. Hegseth’s most aggressive stance was on the issue of physical fitness standards, which he said have been relaxed for the wrong reasons.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops,” he said. “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.”
Starting Tuesday, Mr. Hegseth said, each service must ensure that all combat requirements are returned to the “highest male standard only” and institute rigorous fitness standards based on gender-neutral metrics.
He said troops must do some form of physical training each day.
“We’re not talking hot yoga or stretching,” he said.
Mr. Hegseth said service members must take new combat field tests.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the new fitness standards and the twice-per-year physical training tests will extend all the way up to the commander in chief, Mr. Trump. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarity on that point.
The Pentagon will enforce tighter grooming standards, including bans on beards and long hair for male service members, except Special Forces personnel, he said.
Mr. Hegseth acknowledged that some new standards could result in many women leaving the military. He said the loss is acceptable if they can’t meet the highest standards.
“This is not about preventing women serving,” he said. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. If that no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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