Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers combative address, renews calls for the 'warrior ethos'

SALT LAKE CITY — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's "State of the Force" address Wednesday appeared focused on two purposes: to announce several new initiatives, including a "future of warfare" effort co-led by Elon Musk — while also lambasting frequent targets such as "wokeness" in the ranks and the media.

Speaking to an audience of junior officers and enlisted leaders at Virginia's Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth also highlighted changes to the military structures, including an ongoing 20% reduction of generals and admirals across the American military.

"The number crunchers say we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force, and that number sounds about right, (and) we've also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10%.

"So, yes, a 20% reduction across the board."

Hegseth also announced the creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command to build "autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history."

Calls again for the 'warrior' — not 'woke' — ethos

Wednesday's "State of Force" address was delivered one year after Hegseth, along with President Donald Trump, addressed military senior leadership and called for a "warrior ethos" across "woke-free" ranks.

Last year's speech, noted Hegseth in his opening remarks, reestablished the Pentagon's singular mission: warfighting.

"The generals heard the message," he said. "Those who responded positively, which is most of them, are leading newly focused and newly empowered and disciplined formations.

"Those generals who did not — who clung to the woke department or seemed to think civilian control of the military is simply a suggestion — well, they no longer work here."

In all, there's about a 20% reduction in general officer slots across the American military, said Hegseth. "The media calls that a purge — I call it accountability, and what the media levels as an accusation, I wear as an accomplishment."

The "State of the Force" address, he added, is to be an annual tradition for the defense secretary.

"For almost two years, you've heard me talk over and over and over about three core priorities: reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military, and reestablishing deterrence," he said. "And I'm proud to stand on this stage and report that the warrior ethos has been revived, our military is being rebuilt, and American deterrence is back."

Military operations, Hegseth added, are back "in the hands of commanders and NCOs" — not lawyers and HR reps.

"It's worth saying again so that the fake news understands it — we are no longer the 'woke department' or the 'weak department,'" he said.

"Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals.

"Just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops."

Hegseth then accused the "delusional media" of ignoring key headlines during his Pentagon tenure.

"In today's War Department, military sexual assaults are down. In today's War Department, military suicides are down. In today's War Department, Black and female recruitment are up, even though all the quotas are gone."

New initiatives include 'warfare future' group led by Musk, Gingrich and Luckey

The Trump administration's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, asserted Hegseth, ensures that the military is equipped to win every future war.

The secretary then announced several new initiatives, including the creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command — "a new 4-star combatant command with service-like authorities built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history."

Hegseth also announced "Project Meridian" to study the future of warfare. The project will be co-led by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey.

"Their work will be focused on discovering, developing, and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes, without any creative limitations or restrictions," he said.

"On any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon, our American warriors will be armed with absolute technological superiority, because we will have the foresight to prepare today for tomorrow."

Another initiative — dubbed "Fortress America" — aims to ensure that every major military installation in the United States can generate its own power, independent of civilian grids. The initiative also prioritizes building strategic reserves of resources such as critical minerals.

"We're hardening every installation on American soil against cyber-intrusion, sabotage, drones," he said. "And we're securing the high ground and the airwaves — our satellites, our spectrum, our ability to see, to navigate and to talk to one another."

Hegseth also unveiled the "Barracks Task Force," which includes plans to build new military bases in the United States.

"Under this Commander-in-Chief's leadership, we are bringing tens of thousands of our finest warriors home from overseas," he said. "We are growing our joint force by tens of thousands of service members, and we're pivoting our focus to where it belongs — to defending our homeland and our hemisphere, while outmatching any global threat."

Other new Pentagon initiatives announced by Hegseth include plans to broaden officer training opportunities at several civilian universities and also the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs to support spiritual health across the ranks.

Hegseth concluded by liberally paraphrasing Isaiah 6:8: "Lord, here I am, send me. Send me to fight the Redcoats. Send me to fight the Communists. Send me to fight the Islamists. Send me."

The Pentagon's polarizing chief

Hegseth remains one of the most loyal, visible and controversial members of the Trump administration. His remarks Wednesday are likely to only add to the divided opinions surrounding the former Fox News host.

Some members of Congress remain critical of both the Iran war and what they call a "purge" of many of the military's top officers during Hegseth's tenure.

"He's got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut, in an Associated Press report.

"He's purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it's going to take a generation to recover from it."

Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced earlier this month eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, alleging that the Defense Secretary waged war in Iran illegally, among other "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Public opinion of Hegseth, both nationally and in Utah, is similarly divided.

In a recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics national poll, 37% of American voters expressed some level of Hegseth job approval — while 45% are feeling some degree of disapproval. Eighteen percent said they "don't know."

And in a similar Beehive State poll, 36% of Utahns say they approve of Hegseth's performance, compared to 40% who disapprove. Twenty-three percent responded: "don't know."

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