Defense Sec. Hegseth on ‘fat troops,’ ‘beardos’ & war

Defense Sec. Hegseth on ‘fat troops,’ ‘beardos’ & war

Thank you. please take your seats. Well, Mr. Chairman The Joint Chiefs. Generals Admirals, Commanders. officers. senior enlisted. ncos enlisted. and every member Of our American Military. Good morning. Good morning. And welcome. to the war department. Because the era. of the Department of Defense, Is over. You see? the motto of my first platoon was those who longed for peace? must prepare for war? This is, of course not a new idea This crowd knows that. The origin dates to the crowd knows that. The origin dates to the 4th Century Rome and has been repeated. ever since including by our first commander and chief George Washington, the first leader. Of the war department. it captures a simple yet, profound. truth. To ensure, peace. We must prepare for war. From This Moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored. Department of war, is this? War fighting. Preparing for war, and preparing to win. unrelenting, and uncompromising. in that. Pursuit. Not because we want war, No 1 here wants War. but it’s because we love peace. We love peace for our fellow citizens. They deserve peace. And they rightfully expect us. to deliver it. Our number 1 job, of course, is to be strong so that we can prevent War. in the first place. the president talks about it all the time, it’s called peace through. strength. and as history teaches us, the only people who actually deserve peace. Are those who are willing to wage war, to defend it. Is so naive. and dangerous. It ignores human nature and it ignores human history. Either you protect your people and your sovereignty or you will be. subservient. To something, or someone. It’s a truth as old As Time. and since Waging War is so costly in Blood and treasure, we owe our Republic. a military that will win. any War. We choose or any war that is thrust upon us. Should our enemies. choose. foolishly. to challenge us. They will be crushed. By the violence. Precision. And ferocity. of the war department. in other words, To our enemies. Fa. F f, o. If necessary. our troops can translate that for you. Another way to put it is, peace through. strength. brought to you, by the warrior, ethos and we are restoring. both. As president Trump has said, and he’s right, we have the strongest most powerful. most lethal, and most prepared. military on the planet. That is true. full. stop. Nobody can touch us. It’s not even close. This is true, largely because of the historic Investments that he made in his first term and we will continue in this term. But it’s also true because of the leaders in this room. And the incredible truths that you all lead. But the world. and as the chairman mentioned, our enemies get a vote. You feel it? I feel it. This is a moment. of urgency. Mounting urgency. Enemies gather. Threats grow. There is no time for games. We must be prepared if we’re going to prevent avoid war, we must prepare. now. we are the strength part of peace through strength. In either, we’re ready to win or we are not. You see this urgent moment, of course requires more troops, more Munitions more drones, more patriots, more submarines, more B21 bombers. It requires more Innovation, more AI in everything and ahead of the Curve. more Cyber effects, more counter uas more space more speed, America is the strongest but we need to get stronger and quickly. the time is now, And the cause is urgent. The moment requires restoring and refocusing, our defense industrial base our ship building industry and onshoring. All Critical components. It requires as president Trump has done getting our allies and partners to step up. and share the burden. America cannot do everything. The Free World requires allies with real hard power Real military. leadership. and real military capabilities. The war department is tackling and prioritizing all of these things. And generational acquisition reforms, we are undertaking. Urgently Likewise the nature of the threats. We face in our hemisphere. and in deterring China. Is another speech. For. another day. Coming soon. This speech. Today. As I drink my coffee. This I drink my coffee. This speech. Today is about people. and it’s about culture. Topic today is about the nature of our Because no plan. No program No, no reform No formation will ultimately succeed unless we have the right people. And the right culture. At the war department. If I’ve learned 1 Core lesson in my 8 months, in this job, it’s that Personnel is policy. Personnel is policy. The best way to take care of truths, is to give them good leaders. committed to the warfighting culture of the department. not perfectly leaders. Good leaders. Competent qualified professional agile. aggressive. Innovative risk-taking. apolitical. faithful to their oath And to the Constitution. Eugene Sledge in His World War II Memoir wrote. quote, war is brutish in glorious and a terrible waste. combat leaves an indelible mark on those, who are forced to endure it. The only redeeming factors are my comrades Incredible bravery. And their Devotion to each other. in combat, there are thousands of variables. as I learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in so many of you did in so many more places leaders can only control about 3 of them. You control how well. you’re trained. Mostly how well you’re equipped. And the last variable is, how well you. lead. After that, you’re on your own. our war Fighters are entitled to be led by the best and most capable leaders. That is who we need. you all to be. even then in combat, even if you do everything right, you may still lose people because the enemy always gets a vote. We have a sacred duty to ensure that our Warriors are led by the most capable and qualified combat leaders This is 1 Thing. you and I can control and we owe it to the force. to deliver it. For too long. We’ve simply not done that. The military has been forced by foolish and Reckless politicians. to focus on the wrong things. in many ways, this speech is about fixing Decades of decay. Some of it obvious. Some of it hidden. Or as the chairman has put it, we are clearing out the debris. Removing the distractions. Clearing the way for leaders. to be leaders. You might say we’re. ending the war on Warriors. I heard someone wrote a book about that. For too long. we’ve promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons. Based on their race. Based on gender quotas. based on historic so-called firsts. We’ve pretended, that combat arms and non-combat arms are the same thing. We’ve weeded out. so-called toxic leaders under the guise of double blind. psychology assessments. Promoting risk averse. Go along to get along conformists instead. You name it. the department, did it? Foolish and Reckless political leaders set the wrong. Compass heading. and we lost our way. We became. The woke Department. But not anymore. right now, I’m looking out at a sea of Americans who made a choice. when they were young men, and young women, To do something. Most Americans will not to serve something. greater than yourself to fight for God and Country for freedom and the Constitution. you made a choice to serve. when others did not. And I commend you. You are truly. The best. of America. But this does not mean, and this goes for all of us. That our past to this Auditorium on this day was a straight line. Or that the conditions of the formations, we lead are where we want them to be. You love your country. and we love this uniform. which is why we must do. better. We just have to be honest. We have to say it with our mouths. What? We see with our eyes, to just tell it like it is. in plain English. To point out the obvious things. right in front of us. That’s what leaders must do. We cannot go another day without directly addressing the plank. In our own, I without addressing the problems that our own commands. and in our own formations. This our own formations. This Administration has done a great deal from day 1. To remove the social justice politically, correct. and toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department. to rip out. The politics. No more identity months. Dei offices. Dudes. in dresses. No more climate change worship. no more division distraction or gender delusion. No more debris. As I’ve said before. and we’ll say, again, we are done with that. sááá. I’ve made it my mission to uproot the obvious distractions that made us less capable and less lethal. that said, the war department. requires the next step. underneath the woke garbage is a deeper problem and a more important problem that we are fixing and fixing fast. Common sense is back at the White House. so, making the necessary changes. is actually pretty straightforward. President Trump expects it. And litmus test. for these changes. It’s pretty simple. What I want my eldest son. Who is 15 years old? Eventually joining the types of formations that we are currently wielding. if in any, then we’re doing something wrong. Because my son is no more important than any other American citizen, who dons the cloth of our nation. He is no more important. than your son. All precious Souls made in the image and likeness of God. Every parent deserves to know that their son or their daughter, that joins our ranks is entering exactly the kind of unit that the Secretary of War would want his son to join. Think of it. as the Golden Rule test. Jesus said, do unto others. that’s what you would have done unto yourself. It’s the ultimate simplifying. test of Truth. The new war department Golden Rule. Is this? Do unto your unit. As you would have done. onto your own. child. unit. Would you want him serving with fat or unfit or undertrained troops? Or alongside people who can’t meet basic standards. Or in a unit, where standards were lowered. So certain types of troops could make it in, in a unit where leaders were promoted for reasons other than Merit performance. and War fighting, The answer is not just know. it’s hell no. This means at the war department first, and foremost. we must restore a ruthless. Dispassionate. and, Common Sense application of standards. I don’t want my son. serving longside troops who are out of shape. Or in combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms, physical standards as men. or troops who are not fully proficient on their assigned weapons platform or task. or under a leader, who was The first. But not the best. Standards must be uniform. Gender neutral. and high. If not. They’re not standards. They’re just suggestions. Suggestions. that get our sons and daughters. killed. when it comes to combat arms units, And there are many different stripes across our Joint Force. The era of. Politically correct. Overly sensitive. don’t hurt Anyone’s feelings leadership ends. right now. At every level. Either you can meet the standard either, you can do the job either. you are disciplined. fit and trained or you are out. And that’s why today, at my direction. And this is the first of 10. Department of War directives. That are arriving at your commands as we speak and in your inbox. today at my direction. each service will ensure that every requirement for every combat MOS. for every designated combat arms position. Returns to the highest. male standard only. because this job is life or death. Standards must be met and not just met at every level we should seek to exceed the standard to The envelope to compete. It’s common sense. And core to who we are. and what we do, It should be in our DNA. be in our DNA. today, at my direction. We are also adding a combat field test. For combat arms units, that must be executable in any environment at any time and with combat equipment, These tests. that look familiar, they’ll resemble the Army Expert, physical fitness, assessment, Or the Marine Corps. combat fitness, test. I’m also directing that war fighters in combat jobs, execute their service fitness test. at a gender-neutral neutral age normed male standard scored above 70%. It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the Secretary of War can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our Joint Force? Frankly. it’s tiring to look out at combat, 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. And leading commands around the country, and the world. It’s a bad look. it is bad. and it’s not Who We Are. so, whether you’re an Airborne Ranger or a chairborne ranger, A brand new private or a 4-star General, you need to meet the height and weight standards and Pastor PT test. and as the chairman said, yes, there is no PT test. but today, at my direction, every member of the Joint Force at every rank is required to take a PT test. twice a year. As well as meet height and weight requirements twice a year. Every year of service. Also today, at my direction every Warrior across our Joint force is required to do pt every Duty day. should be common sense. I mean, most units do that already. But we’re codifying it. And we’re not talking like hot yoga and stretching. Real hard. PT. Yeah. There’s either as a unit. or as an individual At every level from the Joint Chiefs to everyone in this room to the youngest private leaders set the standard and so many of you this do this already. Active. guard and Reserve. They also means grooming standards. No more beards. Long hair. superficial individual expression. We’re going to cut our hair. shade our shave. our beards and adhere to standards. because it’s like the broken windows theory of policing. It’s like you left the small stuff, go, the big stuff eventually goes. So you have to address. the small stuff. This is on duty in the field and in the rear, if you want a beard, you can join Special Forces. If not then shave. we don’t have a military full of Nordic, pagans but unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refuse to call BS and enforce standards. Or leaders who felt like they were not alive. to enforce standards. Both are unacceptable. And that’s why today, at my direction, the era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done. simply put, if you do not meet the male level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test or don’t want to shave and look, professional. I’m for a new position. Or. A new profession. I sincerely, appreciate the proactive efforts. the secretaries have already taken in some of those areas. service secretaries. And these directives are intended to Simply accelerate. Those efforts. on the topic of standards. Allow me a few words to talk about. toxic leaders. Upholding and demanding. high standards is not. toxic. Enforcing high standards. Not toxic leadership. Leading War Fighters toward the goals of high. gender neutral and uncompromising standards in order to forge a cohesive. formidable. and lethal Department of war is not toxic It is our duty. Consistent with our constitutional oath. Real toxic leadership is. endangering subordinates with low standards. Real toxic leadership is promoting People based on immutable characteristics or quotas instead of based on Merit. real toxic leadership is promoting destructive ideologies. on immutable characteristics anathema to the Constitution. based on laws of nature and Nature’s God. As Thomas, Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. the definition of toxic has been turned upside down. And we’re correcting that. That’s why today, at my direction, we’re undertaking a full review of the Department’s definitions of. so-called toxic leadership. Bullying, and hazing. To empower leaders to and hazing. To empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of Retribution. or second-guessing. Of course. you can’t do like nasty. bullying and hazing. We’re talking about words like bullying and hazing and toxic. they’ve been weaponized and bastardized inside Our formations. undercutting commanders and ncos No more. Setting. achieving and maintaining high standards is what you all do. and if that makes me toxic then, so be it. Second. today, at our direction. We’re ensuring that every service, every unit every Schoolhouse and every form of professional military education, Conduct. an immediate review of their standards. Now, we’ve done this in many places already. But today, it goes across the entire department of War. any place, where tried and true. physical standards were altered. especially since 2015, when combat arms standards. were changed to ensure. females could qualify Must be returned to their original standard. Other standards have been manipulated to hit racial quotas as well, which is just as unacceptable. this too must end. Merit. Only the president talks about it all the time. merit-based. And the E6 test. The 1990s test is simple. What were the military standards in 1990? and if they, they have changed. Tell me why. Was it a necessary change based on the evolving landscape of combat? or was the change due to a softening weakening or gender-based pursuit of other priorities. 1990 seems to be as good. A place to start as any. Yourself. Make the leadership. Accountability. and lethality efforts of an E6 or, or frankly, an 03. Does it make it easier or more complicated? Does the change in power staff sergeants Petty officers and Tech sergeants to get back to basics? The answer should be a resounding. Yes. The E6 tests are 03 test. Clarifies a lot and it clarifies quickly. You’re a man or a woman? Neither does the enemy. nor does the weight of your rucksack, the size of an artillery round or the body weight of a casualty on the battlefield who must be carried. This. and I want to be very clear about this. This is not about preventing women from serving. We are we’ve very much value the impact, of female troops. our female officers and ncos are the absolute best in the world. but when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat those physical standards must be high and gender neutral. If women can make it, excellent. If not. it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs. so be it. That is not the intent. but it could be the result. so be it. It will also mean that we mean that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death. as we all know, this is you versus an enemy hellbent on killing you. To Be an Effective lethal fighting force. You must trust that the warrior alongside you in battle is capable. Truly. physically capable of doing what is necessary Under Fire. You know. this is the only standard you would want for your kids and for your grandkids, Apply the war department, Golden Rule the 1990 test and the E6 test. And it’s really hard to go wrong. Third. We are attacking, and ending the walking on eggshells and zero defect command culture. A risk Averse culture means officers, execute. not to lose. Instead of to win. A risk Averse culture means NOS are not empowered to enforce standards. commanders, and ncos. Don’t take necessary risks or make tough adjustments. for fear of rocking the boat. or making mistakes. A blemish free record. Is what peacetime leaders covet the most Which is the worst of all incentives. you, we as senior leaders need to as the poisonous culture of risk aversion And Empower, our ncos at all levels to enforce standards. Truth be told for the most part, we don’t need new standards. we just need to reestablish a culture where enforcing standards is possible. And that’s why today, at my direction. I’m issuing new policies that will overhaul the IG. EO and Meo processes. I call it the no more walking on eggshells policy. We are liberating Commanders. and, ncos we are liberating. You we are overhauling and Inspector General process. The IG that has been weaponized. Putting complainers. Ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat. We’re doing the same with the equal opportunity and Military equal opportunity, policies. The EO and emo at our department. No more frivolous complaints. No more Anonymous complaints. No more repeat complaints. No more smearing reputations. No more endless waiting no more legal limbo. No more side Tracking careers. No more walking on eggshells. Of course. being a racist has been illegal in our formation since 1948. The same goes for sexual harassment. Both are wrong. And illegal. Those kinds of infractions will be ruthlessly. Enforced. But telling someone to shave or get a haircut or to get in shape, or to fix their uniform or to show up on time or to work hard. that’s exactly the kind of discrimination we want. We are not civilians. You are not civilians. You are set apart. For a distinct. purpose. So we as a department need to stop acting and thinking like civilians and get back to basics. and put the power back in the hands of commanders and ncos. Commanders and ncos who make life. and death. decisions. Commanders and ncos, who enforce standards and ensure readiness. commanders. and ncos who in this? and ensure Readiness commanders and ncos who in this war department? Have to look in the mirror. and they have to pass the Golden Rule test. My kids. Your kids. America’s sons and daughters. So, I urge you all here today and those watching take this guidance and run with it. the core of this speech is the 10 directories, we’re announcing today. they were written for you. For Army leadership. for Navy leadership. for Marine Corps leadership for Air Force leadership space force leadership. these directives are designed to take the monkey off your back. and put you the leadership. back in the driver’s seat. Move out with urgency, because we have your back. I have your back. and the commander-in-chief has your back. and when we, give you this guidance, we know, mistakes will be made. It’s the nature of leadership. But you should not pay for Earnest mistakes for your entire career. And that’s why today at my direction. We’re making changes to the retention of adverse information on Personnel records. That will allow Leaders with forgivable. Earnest or minor infractions to not be encumbered by those infractions in perpetuity People make honest mistakes. and our mistakes should not Define an entire career. Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes and that’s not the business we’re in. We need risk-takers, Takers and aggressive leaders. and a culture. Supports you. forth at the war department, promotions across the Joint Force. will be based on 1 Thing. Merit. Colorblind, gender neutral merit-based. the entire promotion process. including evaluations of warfighting capabilities. is being thoroughly re-examined. We’ve already done a lot in this area, but more changes are coming soon. We’ll promote top performing officers and ncos faster. And get rid of poor performers more quickly. Evaluation. education. and field exercises. Will become real evaluations not box checks for every 1 of us at every level. And Secretary of War. Henry Stimson did the same thing. and we won a World War because of it. As it happens when he started the job chairman Kaine. Gave me a frame and a photo to hang in my office. A matching frame, and photo. hangs in his. photo hangs in his. It’s a photo of Marshall and Simpson. Preparing for World War II. Those 2 leaders famously kept the door open between their offices. For the entirety of the war. They worked together. civilian. and uniformed. every single day. chairman Kane and I do the same. There is no daylight between us. Our doors are always open. Our job together is to ensure our military is led by the very best. Ready to answer. the nation’s call. Fifth. As you have seen. And the media. has obsessed over. I have fired a number of senior officers since taking over the previous chairman. other members of The Joint Chiefs Combatant commanders and other commanders. the rationale for me has been straightforward. It’s nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create. or even benefited from that culture. Even if that culture was created by a previous president and previous Secretary, Approach has been simple. when in doubt, Assess the situation. follow your gut. And if it’s the best for the military, Make a change. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. Every single day. but in many ways, It’s not their fault. It’s not your fault. as foolish and Reckless as the woke Department, was those officers were following. elected political leadership. An entire generation of generals and Admirals will were told that they must parent the insane fallacy that quote our diversity is our strength. Of course, we know our Unity is our strength. They had to put out dizzying Dei and lgbtq. plus statements. They were told females and males are the same thing. Or that males, who think? they’re females. Totally normal. they were told that we need. a green Fleet and electric tanks. They were told to kick out Americans who refuse an emergency? vaccine. They followed civilian policies set by foolish and Reckless. political leaders. Our job. My job. Has been to determine which leaders simply did what they must. to answer the prerogatives of Civilian leadership. And which leaders are truly invested in the woke department. and therefore incapable of embracing the war department and executing new lawful orders. That’s it. It’s that simple. Last 8 months, we’ve got look under the hood of our officer Corps. We’ve done our best to thoroughly assess the human Terrain. We’ve had to make trade-offs. And some difficult decisions. It’s more of an art than a science. We have been, and will continue to be. judicious. but also, Expeditious. The new Compass heading is. Clear. Out with the charellis, the McKenzie’s and the millyz. and in with the stock deals, the Schwarz coughs and the patents. More leadership changes. will be made of that uncertain. Not because we want to but because we must once again. this is life and death. The sooner we have the ri t people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel. Policy. But I look out at this group. And I see great Americans. Leaders, who have given decades. to our great Republic. at great sacrifice to yourselves. And to your families. but if the world, Today. And resign. We would thank you. for your service. but I suspect, I know. The overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full. You love the war department Because you love what you do, the profession of arms. You are hereby. liberated. to be an apolitical. hard charging. No Nonsense. constitutional leader that you joined the military to be. We need you locked in. On the m. not the D, the e or the not the Dei or the the d, i e of dime. by that, I mean, the m Military of the instruments of National Power. We instruments of National Power. We have entire departments across the government dedicated to diplomatic informational and economic lines of effort. We do the m Nobody else does. And our goes need to master it in every domain and every scenario. no more distractions, no more political ideologies. no more debris. Now, of course, we’re going to disagree at times. We would not be Americans if we didn’t. Being a leader in a large organization, like and differences of opinion. Well, when some arguments and you will lose some arguments, but when civilian leaders issued lawful orders, we execute We are professionals. In the profession of arms. our entire constitutional system. Is predicated. upon this. understanding. Now. seems like a small thing, but it’s not. this includes as well. The behavior of our troops online. To that end. I want to thank and recognize the services for their new proactive social media policies. Use them. Anonymous. online or keyboard complaining is not. worthy of a warrior. Howard is. Masquerading his conscience. Anonymous unit level social media pages that trash Commanders. demoralize troops and undermine unit cohesion. must not be tolerated. Again. 03s, e6s 6th. We must train, and we must maintain. Any moment that we are not training on our mission. or maintaining our equipment. is a moment, we are less prepared for preventing or winning the next War. That is why today at my Direction we are drastically. Reducing. the ridiculous amount of mandatory training that individuals and units must execute. We’ve already ended the most egregious. now, we’re giving you back real time. Less PowerPoint briefings and fewer online courses, more time in the motor pool and more time on the Range. Our job is to make sure you have the money equipment weapons and parts to train and maintain and then you take it from there, You all know this, because it’s common sense. The tougher and the higher the standards in our units. The higher the retention rates in those units. Warriors want to be challenged troops, want to be tested when you don’t train and you don’t. maintain. you demoralize and that’s when our best people decide to take their talents to the civilian world. The leaders who created the woke Department of already driven out too many hard Chargers. We reverse that trend right now. There is no world in which high-intensity war exists with without paying pain and Agony and human tragedy. We are in a dangerous line of work. You are in a dangerous line of work. We may lose good people. I had been properly trained. We will not use lose War Fighters because we fail to train, or equip them or resource them. shame on us. If we do. Train like your warriors lives depend on it. Because they do. To that point. Basic training is being restored to what it should be. Scary tough. and disciplined. We’re empowering drill sergeants to instill healthy fear, in new recruits. Ensuring that future. War Fighters are forged. Yes, they can. shark attack, they can toss bunks. They Swear. and yes, they can put their hands on recruits. This does not mean they can be Reckless. or violate the law. But they can use tried and true methods to new recruits. to make them the Warriors, They need to be back to basics at basic as well. Of course, And, you know, this basic training is not where Mission Readiness should end. the nature of the evolving threat environment, demands that everyone in every job. must be ready to join the fight if needed. a core creative of the Marine. Corps is every Marine a Rifleman It means that everyone. regardless of moss is proficient enough to engage. in enemy threat at Sea in the air or in a so-called rear area. We need to ensure that every member of our uniformed military, maintains, Baseline proficiency and basic combat skills. Or like the last. Will likely not have a rear area. Finally. Have a rear area. Finally. As president Trump rightly pointed out when changed. A major theater War since the name was changed. to the Department of Defense. in 1947. 1 conflans stands out. in stark contrast. The Gulf War. Why? Well, there’s a number of reasons. but it was a limited Mission with overwhelming force and a clear end state. but why did we execute and win the Gulf War? The way we did in 1991? There’s 2 overwhelming reasons. 1 was President Ronald Reagan’s military buildup. gave an overwhelming advantage. And 2. Military and Pentagon leadership. Had previous. formative. Battlefield experience. The Men Who led this department. Were mostly. They said never again to Mission creep. or nebulous end-states. States. The same holds true today. Our civilian, and Military leadership is chalk full of veterans from Iraq, and Afghanistan. Who Say Never Again to nation building and nebulous end States. This clear-eyed View. all the way in the White House. Combined with President Trump’s military buildup. Postures us for future victories. If And we will. And when we embrace the war department. and we must, we are preparing. every day We have to be prepared for war, not for defense. We’re training Warriors, not Defenders. We fight Wars to win, not to defend. Defense is something you do all the time. It’s inherently reactionary and can lead to overuse overreach and Mission creep. War is something you do sparingly. On our own terms, and with clear aims We fight to win. We unleash. overwhelming and punishing. violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid Rules of Engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate. demoralize hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically, correct. and overbearing Rules of Engagement. just, common sense. maximum lethality and Authority for war Fighters. That’s all I ever wanted as a. Platoon leader. And it’s all my E6 Squad leaders Ever Wanted back to that E6 rule we let our leaders fight their formations. and then we have their back. It’s a very simple. yet, incredibly powerful. A few months ago, I was at the White House when President Trump announced his Liberation day for America’s trade policy. It was a landmark day. Well, today is another Liberation day. The Liberation of America’s Warriors in name in deed and in authorities. You kill people and break things for a living. You are not politically correct. and don’t necessarily belong. Always in polite Society. We are not an army of 1. We are a Joint Force of millions of selfless, Americans. We are warriors. We are purpose-built. not for fair weather. Blue Skies, or calm seas? We were built to load up in the back of helicopters. 5, tons. or Zodiacs in the dead of night. In fair weather or fowl. To go to dangerous places. to find to find those who would do our nation harm. And deliver. Justice. on behalf of the American people. in close and brutal combat. if necessary. You are different. you fight, not because we Hate, what’s in front of us? we fight because we love what’s behind us? You see the ivy league? Faculty lounges will never understand us and that’s okay. Because they could never do what you do. The media will mischaracterize us, and that’s okay. Because deep down, they know the reason they can do what they do is you In this profession, you feel comfortable inside the violence. So that our citizens can live peacefully. Lethality is our calling card. and Victory. are only acceptable. end state. In closing. A few weeks ago. At our monthly Pentagon Christian prayer service. I recited a Commander’s prayer. It’s a simple yet, meaningful Prayer for Wisdom for commanders and leaders. I and leaders. I encourage you to look it up. if you’ve never seen it. But the prayer it ends like this. And most of all. Lord. Please keep. my soldiers. safe. Lead them. guide them. protect them. Watch over them. and as you, gave all of your self for me, help me. Give all of my self for them. And amen. I prayed this prayer many times since I’ve had the privilege of being your secretary and I will continue to pray this prayer for each of you. as you command. and Lead. our nation’s. finest. Go forth. And do good things. Hard things. President Trump. has your back, and so do I And you’ll hear from him shortly. Move out. And draw fire. because we are the war department. God Speak.

Defense Secretary Hegseth addressed top military leaders in Quantico, Virginia. Hegseth talked about preparation for war.

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