Pete Hegseth Makes a Much-Needed 'My Way or the Highway' Offer to Assembled Generals and Admirals

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave his much-awaited speech to an assembly of all general or flag officers currently in command billets, along with their senior enlisted advisers, at USMC Base Quantico on Tuesday morning. My colleague Jennifer Oliver O'Connell has covered the particulars of the speech in an earlier post, Pete Hegseth Sets Directives and the New Direction for the Department of War.

I posted earlier on the prelude to the speech, and I think those posts held up well to the test of time.

READ:

Panic Seizes Pentagon As Hegseth Calls No-Notice, No-Agenda Meeting of All Generals in Command Billets – RedState

Pete Hegseth's Shock Meeting With His Generals Could Be a Gamechanger for How the War Department Works – RedState

The big themes of the speech were a) the Department of War exists to prepare to fight and win wars, and if it isn't doing that nothing else matters; b) big accomplishments can't happen without ruthless attention to small details; c) power to enforce standards must be decentralized if it is to work; and d) there is one high standard for the Department of War. Everyone really needs to watch this.

He's going to receive a lot of trash-talk for addressing an audience of GOFOs about the minutiae of command, but I think there was a genius in doing so. First off, it will be the only time most one- and two-star generals have had contact with the Secretary of War. This gives him a chance to push his message directly to them without it being "interpreted" by higher echelons. This will make it much harder for resistance types to ignore the directives. Second, by televising the speech, his directives are making their way unimpeded down to installations, units, and service members. His specific directions about basic training, "To that point, basic training is being restored to what it should be. Scary, tough, and disciplined. We're empowering drill sergeants to instill healthy fear in new recruits, ensuring that future war fighters are forged. Yes, they can shark attack. They can toss bunks. They can swear. And yes, they can put their hands on recruits. This does not mean they can be reckless or violate the law, but they can use tried and true methods to motivate new recruits to make them the warriors they need to be." See Pete Hegseth to Lift Ban on Powerful Basic Training Tactic – RedState for the genesis of this policy.

He stated that standards, not "immutable characteristics," were his touchstone. In particular, he took aim at the benighted policies that have led to the introduction of women into Ranger and Special Forces units, when it is widely believed the physical standards were cooked to permit them to pass.

But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender-neutral. If women can make it, excellent. If not,  it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it.  That is not the intent, but it could be the result, so be it.  It will also mean that weak men won't qualify because we're not playing games 

Again, this is directed at school commanders and staff, bypassing layers of command above.

Hegseth also made an offer to those in attendance.

. @secwar "If the words I am speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and RESIGN." pic.twitter.com/nEzFOkq978

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 30, 2025

But if the words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign. We would thank you for your service.  But, I suspect, I know, the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full. You love the War Department because you love what you do: the profession of arms. You are hereby liberated to be the apolitical, hard-charging, no-nonsense constitutional leader that you joined the military to be. We need you locked in on the M, not the D, the E, or the I. Not the DEI  or the DIE of dime. By that I mean the M, Military, of the instruments of national power.

DIME is an acronym for the four elements of national power: Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic.

On the whole, I think Heseth did what needed to be done. He set some clear standards, most of which will be welcomed. Delivering it to the entirety of the GOFO commanders and their senior enlisted representatives will ensure that there isn't a cohesive resistance. However, I suspect some careers will come to a screeching halt when they are found to be dragging their feet, if not outright refusing to comply.

I think the Hegseth critics look pretty silly today. He gave a strong speech and set clear guidelines, though he will get grief over his overt hostility to forcing unqualified women into combat arms units and hating on fat people. I'm sure he can live with that.

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