Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth began a tour of Europe Tuesday, starting at the headquarters of US European Command at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. The newly minted SecDef has a heavy schedule in front of him, inspecting US forces in Europe and dealing with his first meeting with NATO. He is obviously trying to move beyond the controversies associated with his confirmation. He is also trying to lead by example and reverse the cultural rot in the US military by force of will.

He traveled to Europe by way of a C-17 cargo plane with a command pod rather than in a Gulfstream executive jet.

C-17’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Airstream Trailer Pod Used By Secretary Of Defense Hegseth On First Overseas Trip

The dated Silver Bullet Command and Control Modules are scheduled to be replaced later this year after more than three decades of service.

Story: https://t.co/3yXYsTr6Aj

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) February 12, 2025

He traveled with his wife and child. This has become something of a standard image of all Trump cabinet secretaries. Trump has had his grandchild at his desk. Sean Duffy's family is prominent in events. JD Vance's wife and kids travel with him. Musk's kid was at the press conference he held yesterday. The image of family as a central point in life rather than an adjunct to your job is striking when compared to previous administrations, including Trump 1.0. See my colleague Brandon Morse's post on the subject: Elon Musk Is Demonstrating the Best Pro-Life Strategy Right Now and It's Heartwarming to See – RedState.

NEW: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth & his wife just landed in Germany after opting to skip the Munich Security Conference to instead talk to American troops throughout Europe, including Poland & Belgium.

"I would much rather talk to troops than go to cocktail parties."… pic.twitter.com/8tsyUdVPJ8

— George (@BehizyTweets) February 11, 2025

Hegseth mixed with the troops.

Pete Hegseth at the gym with U.S. soldiers in Europe this morning.

Defense Secretary lifting weights with the troops, awesome.pic.twitter.com/aLU3vmhMGJ

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 11, 2025

He ran PT with 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group.

BREAKING: Pete Hegseth is in Germany training with Green Berets and is skipping the Munich Security Conference to interact with American troops throughout Europe instead.

“I would much rather talk to troops than go to cocktail parties.” pic.twitter.com/aPtxhNiRTN

— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) February 11, 2025

This is a close-up of the upper right image in the last group because the size of that guy has been commented on.

Pete Hegseth is in Germany training with Green Berets and is skipping the Munich Security Conference to interact with American troops throughout Europe instead.

“I would much rather talk to troops than go to cocktail parties.”

Did you work out today?😜 https://t.co/SbAtcHoulh

— NannaTracyM (@NannaTracyM) February 12, 2025

While the informal side went well, the official visit was, in my view, a lot more problematic.

These images are from the official reception.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited US European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany yesterday. He is on his first trip to Europe since taking office. pic.twitter.com/JoIbjC8rcD

— Brodie K. - Analyze & Educate (@AnalyzeEducate) February 12, 2025

I'm old school on uniforms. I think the custom of wearing BDUs (utilities, fatigues, whatever you want to call the field uniform) all the time is horrendous. When I was a young officer, you weren't allowed to wear BDUs off-post. Period. You couldn't go to a fast food place or run an errand on the way home or at lunch wearing BDUs. In my view, if you can't break out the Class A uniform to welcome the SecDef and note the color guard is in dress uniform, then there is no possible occasion that calls for them. But, if you do wear BDUs to greet the SecDef, show him the respect of wearing a fresh set. Meeting the head of the Department of Defense in wrinkled BDUs is a calculated insult because I really don't believe this three-star or his aide are that stupid.

More evidence to back up my contention that the greeting was intended to show Hegseth how little the commanding general thought of him, perhaps for the first time in the history of the Defense Department, the Secretary of Defense was heckled by military wives.

A very small group of protesters shouting “DEI” greeted @SecDef @PeteHegseth at the EUCOM HQs. Not sure who they were, but they have base access. 😳

Here’s the tail end of it: pic.twitter.com/2AoyeXd4R7

— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) February 11, 2025

At the same time, middle school, I say again, middle school students walked out to protest the end of DEI programs. This was absolutely organic to the middle school and had no helping hand from the command structure in Stuttgart because if there is one thing that really sets off 6th graders, it is losing their DEI classes.

More than 50 students at Patch Middle School in Stuttgart, Germany, staged a walkout Tuesday to protest recent Pentagon moves that have targeted diversity initiatives at military schools.https://t.co/Sx3HDrdPXC

— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) February 12, 2025

This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you're willing to greet your boss in wrinkled clothes and allow him to be heckled by dependent wives, you can imagine what else is going on out of sight.