United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed fat generals and diversity initiatives that he believes led to the decay of the military and told a rare gathering of commanders they should resign if they don’t support his agenda.
President Donald Trump joined Hegseth at the gathering and told the military that dangerous cities where he has deployed the National Guard could be used as “training grounds” for troops.
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and Trump, a former reality TV star, summoned the military officials on short notice to the impromptu event.
“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 any more.”
Hegseth has defended his firings of officers like the top U.S. general who is black and the Navy’s top admiral who is a woman, claiming they were part of a broken culture.
During the event, Hegseth advised anyone who disagreed with his statements to resign.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honourable thing and resign,” Hegseth said.
“I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”
He also criticised the look of overweight troops and said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks while emphasising the importance of grooming standards.
This comes as the Trump administration continues its push against DEI programs.
