By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
Item 1 of 7 U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
[1/7] U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed “fat generals” and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they do not support his agenda.
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, was joined by U.S. President Donald Trump, himself a former reality television host, for an on-camera event in Quantico, Virginia that had a made-for-TV character to it with generals and admirals assembled on short notice.
“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department,'” Hegseth said as he kicked off the event. “But not anymore,” he said.
Addressing an auditorium full of top brass summoned from around the world without explanation last week, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, which include the top U.S. general, who is Black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who is a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.
He promised sweeping changes to how discrimination complaints are handled and how accusations of wrongdoing are investigated at the Pentagon, saying the current system has top brass walking on “egg shells.”
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said.
“I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”
Hegseth criticized the look of overweight troops, saying: “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
He said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks only and emphasized the importance of grooming standards.
“The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.