Hegseth rails against ‘woke,’ lays out standards in speech to top generals, admirals

In a speech Tuesday morning before an auditorium packed with several hundred of the nation’s most seasoned military commanders, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for an end to “woke” culture in the military and railed against a litany of complaints such as diversity and probes into hazing.

“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now,” Hegseth said at the gathering at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia — a secure site an hour south of the nation’s capital.

Hegseth called for “no more division, distraction or gender delusions” in an extraordinarily blunt speech on the importance of the “warrior ethos,” a term he uses to describe the spirit that makes combat units effective.

“We must be prepared,” he said. “Either we’re ready to win or we are not.”

Hegseth — who served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard and was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan — issued new directives that will raise physical standards for everyone in uniform to a “male level,” toughen grooming standards, lift restrictions on rules of engagement, do away with racial quotas, and end restrictions on hazing for boot camp recruits.

He demanded no more “fat generals,” saying all service members would need to meet fitness tests and grooming standards.

“No more beardos,” he said. “The era of unacceptable appearance is over.”

“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, it’s time for a new position or a new profession.”

He said he is also “overhauling” the DOD’s Inspector General’s Office that is investigating him for creating a culture of “walking on eggshells” that he said “has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat.”

“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department,’ but not anymore,” he said.

He justified the firing of Gen. CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and other senior leaders.

Hegseth said his rationale “has been straightforward,” contending it’s hard to change a culture with people who benefited from that previous culture.

Brown never pushed “quotas” for promotions within the military, which relies on a merit-based system that Hegseth claimed wrongfully punished too many people for “toxic leadership.” Brown and others pushed the idea of recruiting from a broader section of America so that the military would look more like the nation it serves.

The secretary added that the department is “clearing the way for leaders to be leaders.”

“You might say we are ending the war on warriors,” Hegseth, who now goes by the title “secretary of war,” said.

He told his audience that if all the new standards he has unveiled makes their “hearts sink,” then they should resign.

Hegseth pressed hard, as part of the broader rebranding ordered by Trump, the importance of enforcing combat standards that keep troops lethal.

Trump followed Hegseth with his own speech, saying that as president, he would have their backs and that he is committed to making the military “stronger, tougher, faster, fiercer and more powerful than it has ever been before.”

The president argued the military’s job is not only to protect the U.S from threats abroad, but also what he repeatedly referred to as a domestic enemy in American cities.

“I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard,” said Trump, who claimed “We’re under invasion from within.”

For the majority of his speech, Trump talked about several other topics, including his claims that he has ended more foreign conflicts than previous presidents.

Trump also took shots at his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and his handling of the United States troops’ from Afghanistan, calling it “was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”

The president also took credit for the rise in military enlistments and ending what he claimed were unfair promotions and standards.

“We went through political correct where you had to have people who were totally unfit to be doing what you’re doing,” he said. “Now it’s all based on merit.”

Last week, general and flag officers at the one-star level and above were told to fly to Quantico from their duty stations with just several days’ notice and no hint as to what the meeting might be about.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the meeting, and speculation quickly spread that the meeting might have to do with urgent cuts to the military force or the national defense strategy, which would set new priorities for the second Trump administration and could change how troops train and equip themselves.

The Defense Department, which now coined by Trump and Hegseth as the “Department of War,” has not said how much it cost to fly in so many people last minute, although it is widely expected to cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The event comes as the government is careening toward a potential shutdown that could force some 2 million troops to work without pay if a spending bill doesn’t pass Congress by midnight Wednesday.

Most military personnel are on track to be paid Oct. 1, officials said Monday. But after that, troops would be at the mercy of negotiations on Capitol Hill, which remain at a stalemate.

According to a contingency plan posted by the Pentagon this weekend, all active-duty troops would be required to keep working. The plan says contracts can move forward, too, but under increased scrutiny with priority given to efforts to secure the U.S. southern border and build Trump’s U.S. missile shield known as “Golden Dome,” as well as operations in the Middle East and shipbuilding.

There had been speculation that the commanders traveling from around the world to hear Trump and Hegseth speak on Tuesday could get stuck away from their assigned work locations if the government shuts down that night. But according to government guidance, personnel must return home as soon as possible if a shutdown occurs while on work travel.

Any travel costs incurred after the shutdown are reimbursable once spending resumes.

-ABC News’ Karen Travers, Isabella Murray and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.