Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has summoned top military leaders from across the globe to give a speech in which he raged about fat generals, men with beards, and “dudes in dresses.”
In an unprecedented address on Tuesday to outline an overhaul of the military, the former Fox News host, who got his job with minimal qualifications and a string of sexual assault allegations against him, also lamented people who complained about toxic leadership, telling the room: “If that makes me toxic, then so be it.”
Declaring that words like “bullying” and “hazing” had been “weaponized,” Hegseth announced a full review of the department’s definitions of those terms.
Complaint mechanisms would also be reformed, he said, along with the military’s equal opportunity policies.
“We are liberating you,” he told the generals.
“No more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complaints, no more smearing reputations, no more endless waiting, no more legal limbo, more sidetracking careers, no more walking on eggshells.”
The highly unusual gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, was called last week, fueling intense speculation about the significance of gathering such a large number of generals and admirals in one place.
Some are stationed in conflict zones, including the Middle East, Europe, or the Indo-Pacific, leaving their posts without their top officers.
Speaking over the weekend, Trump had branded the speech as a chance to tell the generals “we love them.”
But over 45 minutes, a very animated Hegseth railed against what he called “stupid rules of engagement” in the military, cited Jesus, talked up his book, and repeated a litany of Trumpy talking points.
He also banned “beardos”—men with beards—from the military and demanded daily workouts and twice-a-year physical fitness tests.
“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, in the world, it’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
Hegseth also explained his decision to fire more than a dozen military leaders, many of whom were highly qualified women or people of color, such as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q Brown Jr, and the first woman to command the Navy, Admiral Lisa Franchetti.
“The rationale for me has been straightforward—it’s nearly impossible for me to change a culture from the same people who helped create or even benefited from that culture,” he said.
And he announced that basic training would be restored “to what it should be—scary, tough and disciplined.”
As such, drill sergeants would have the right to “put their hands on recruits” as long as they weren’t too reckless or broke the law, he said.
“Train like your warriors’ lives depend on it, because they do,” said Hegseth, whose military career peaked at the rank of an army National Guard.
Hegseth’s speech was met with a relatively muted response from the military brass.
Trump took the stage after him, noting that: “I’ve never walked into a room so silent before.”
The president, who famously avoided the military draft multiple time, then gave a far more subdued address, talking about everything from Joe Biden’s autopen, his love of the word “tariffs”, and the threat of nuclear weapons.
“I call it the N word. There are two N words and you can’t use either of them,” Trump said to an awkwardly silent audience.
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