Hegseth orders troops to watch his speech decrying a ‘woke’ military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering troops to watch or read his speech last month at Quantico, Va., when he declared the “woke” military is gone, decried “fat generals” and ordered women in the military to meet the “highest male standards” for physical fitness.

The memo, obtained by NPR, calls for servicemembers to complete the “Warrior Ethos Tasking,” which includes a link to the video and updated policy memorandums, by the end of the month. The policy memorandums lay out in detail his plans to enhance physical fitness, grooming standards and military readiness.

The memo states, “All commanders must document the completion of the Warrior Ethos Tasking in a Memorandum for Record.”

When asked for comment, a Defense Department official, not authorized to speak publicly, said by e-mail, “The Secretary’s speech was for the whole force and this memo just reinforces that guidance.”

Hegseth spoke on Sept. 30 to hundreds of generals and admirals who were ordered from commands all around the world to an auditorium at Marine Base Quantico.

‘Era of Defense Department is over’

Walking back and forth on a stage, with a massive American flag as a backdrop, Hegseth declared, “Today we end the war on warriors.” He said “the era of the Defense Department is over,” said the new name will be the Department of War, and indicated the Pentagon would shift to a more aggressive culture.

Hegseth, a 45-year-old Army 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 “historic firsts.”

“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,” Hegseth said.

“Today is another liberation day, the liberation of America’s warriors,” Hegseth said. “You are not politically correct and don’t necessarily always belong in polite society. We are purpose built.”

The generals and admirals all sat stone-faced as Hegseth spoke. And then they continued that stoical stance when President Trump then addressed them.

“I never walked into a room so silent before,” Trump said. “If you want to applaud, you applaud. You can do anything you want.”

But a source not authorized to speak publicly tells NPR that before both speeches, and before the cameras were turned on, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine told the assembled officers they were to treat the speeches as if they were at the State of the Union, where the Joint Chiefs also show no emotion, keeping with the military’s traditional nonpartisan position.