The secretary of war means it, and it’s long overdue. Our military from top to bottom must be preparing for a major war, most likely with our most economically powerful and dangerous adversary ever, communist China.
While China has been undergoing the largest military buildup since WWII, the American military has been mired in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism missions in the Middle East and embarked on widespread “woke” social engineering experiments at home, leaving our forces weakened and unprepared for the fast-approaching big war with China.
And that war is coming very soon.
While much of the legacy media focuses on the possible political ramifications of Pete Hegseth’s unprecedented meeting with every commanding general and their senior enlisted personnel, the real message is that the U.S. is finally taking the threat of China seriously. (RELATED: Civilian Command Makes America Stronger, Pete Hegseth Will Prove It)
And the U.S. military, like it did prior to WWII, must now drop all the, stupid, superfluous, and subversive crap and become laser focused on being warriors, warfighting and war winning.
“From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: Warfighting,” Hegseth said in his speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, using the new “old” name for the Defense Department.
“Preparing for war and preparing to win. Unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit. Not because we want war. No one here wants war. But it’s because we love peace.”
But why now? Because, he noted:
This is a moment of urgency, mounting urgency. Enemies gather. Threats grow. There is no time for games. We must be prepared. If we’re going to prevent and avoid war, we must prepare now. We are the strength part of peace through strength, and either we’re ready to win or we are not.
… this urgent moment of course requires more troops, more munitions, more drones, more Patriots, more submarines, more B-21 bombers. It requires more innovation, more AI in everything and ahead of the curve, more cyber effects, more counter UAS, more space, more speed.
America is the strongest, but we need to get stronger and quickly. The time is now, and the cause is urgent.
And how does Hegseth plan to ensure we are ready to fight and win the next big war? First, by changing the deeply warped culture at the Pentagon, declaring that left-wing woke mindset that has undermined, softened, and divided our military is dead.
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusion, no more debris. I’ve said before and will say again, we are done with that s***,” Hegseth said. (RELATED: Pentagon To Ask Trump To Authorize First US Military Execution In 60+ Years)
He is also overhauling the Pentagon’s Equal Opportunity program and Inspector General (IG) office. “We are overhauling an inspector general process — the IG that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues, and poor performers in the driver seat,” he told senior leaders.
On the Equal Opportunity program, he said: “No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complainants, no more smearing reputations, no more endless waiting, no more legal limbo, no more side-tracking careers, no more walking on eggshells.”
Hegseth also ordered “a full review” of leftwing buzzwords and terms like toxic leadership, bullying, and hazing, which he argued have been “weaponized.” “The definition of ‘toxic’ has been turned upside down, and we’re correcting that,” he said. “If that makes me toxic, then so be it.”
For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons, based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts. We’ve pretended that combat arms and non-combat arms are the same thing. We’ve weeded out so-called toxic leaders under the guise of double blind psychology assessments, promoting risk averse go along to get along conformists instead. You name it, the department did it.
Secondly, Hegseth is demanding our troops, from privates to generals and admirals, exemplify the warrior ethos by being superbly fit.
“Today at my direction, every member of the joint force, at every rank, is required … [to] meet height and weight requirements twice a year every year,” Hegseth said.
He added that “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country, in the world, it’s a bad look.”
Hegseth has made physical readiness central to his effort to restore the military’s “warrior ethos.” He has repeatedly highlighted the importance of new fitness requirements as part of that broader push.
He added that the U.S. military will require troops in combat roles to meet “this highest male standard only,” requiring every service member in such positions to score above 70 percent on the “male standard” of their branch’s physical fitness test. No more “girl standards” intended only to allow women to serve in combat.
“Standards must be uniform, gender neutral and high. If not, they’re not standards. They’re just suggestions, suggestions that get our sons and daughters killed.”
…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. This is combat. This is life or death.
Hegseth also noted that many of “these same reforms happened before World War II as well. General George Marshall and Secretary of War Henry Stimson did the same thing, and we won a world war because of it.” And we are now facing a similar major war on the horizon. (RELATED: Russia Helping China Invade Taiwan Could Spark WWIII)
This is why Hegseth also made it clear that this new War Department, filled with warriors, not “defenders,” wouldn’t compromise on these reforms.
…I look out at this group, and I see great Americans, leaders who have given decades to our great republic at great sacrifice to yourselves and to your families. 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.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary, this is exactly how you prepare our military to fight, and win, the next big war.
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Thank God, President Trump is turning our woke military into a military. The military must exhibit strength of personnel, discipline of troops, excellent in education per specialty, excellence in training,
Although I think the readiness at this point is more likely to be needed on an intellectual, rather than physical, basis, I am in agreement that we definitely need a physically fit fighting force, too.
Looking out among the ranks and seeing less-than-fit warriors is a psychological invitation to attack, as well.
Hegseth is spot on.