Hegseth declares cultural shift in military at Quantico gathering

At a gathering at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told hundreds of junior military officers and enlisted leaders that the Trump administration has achieved a cultural shift in the military.

"No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors," Hegseth said on Wednesday. "The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top."

Hegseth has vowed to shrink what he says is a bloated flag-officer corps since he took over at the Pentagon. He said he'd already achieved a 10% reduction and aimed to reach 20%. But his firings so far, and the unconventional way he has reached down into promotion boards to essentially end the careers of some senior officers, has drawn bipartisan criticism. Many of the notable firings were of Black or female officers, let go without explanation despite excellent service records.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued this statement in response to the speech:

"Throughout his tenure, Secretary Hegseth has taken countless reckless, partisan actions that have damaged our military. He has ended the careers of dozens of our most accomplished senior officers and refused to explain why. Today's news should alarm every American."

In his speech, Hegseth defended his policies and claimed that retention and recruitment, including among women and minorities, has risen. He called the new force "color-blind" and merit-based. Hegseth took considerable time to rail against the media for reporting on troop morale and depleted munitions stocks in the war with Iran.

"A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they're undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It's sick. It's a national betrayal. It's treason, actually," he said.

Despite the war in Iran, now in its seventh month, the Pentagon hasn't held a news briefing since May, even with a handpicked press corps more sympathetic to the Trump administration.

The event echoed a gathering last year where Hegseth delivered an unusually partisan speech to hundreds of generals and admirals, despite the U.S. military's foundational tradition of avoiding politics. The flag officers stayed almost completely silent as Hegseth spoke about culture war issues mentioned in his book The War on Warriors. He said that the "State of the Force" address would be an annual event, and was no less partisan this year, blaming past generals and defense secretaries by name for weakening the military.

Hegseth also announced new initiatives around autonomous weapons, technological innovation, base construction and domestic production of essential military supplies.

He pledged to elevate the military's chaplains and called religious faith the most essential component of our republic.

This week Hegseth also announced an end to civilian tenure positions at U.S. military academies, which a Pentagon press release said would "reform our educational institutions to ensure they remain laser-focused on lethality and readiness."

While criticizing elite academic institutions as anti-American in his speech, Hegseth named five new colleges that will pilot an enhanced relationship with the Pentagon to produce officer candidates.