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At Quantico, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth toddled to the mic, saluted the room of tiny generals, and said, “Good morning and welcome to the War Department because the era of the Department of Defense is over.” He said the whole job is, “War fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win.” Then he sipped his big-boy coffee and told the room this is all about people and culture.
He pushed “peace through strength,” warning enemies that, “If necessary, our troops can translate that for you,” after spelling out “F.A.F.O.” He called pacifism “naive and dangerous,” and said America must get “more munitions, more drones… more B-21 bombers,” and more everything, faster. He promised a big speech next month about buying gear faster, and more speeches later about China.
Then he put the training wheels on fire. He said standards got squishy and that ends now. “Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral, and high.” He ordered combat fitness back to the “highest male standard” and said war jobs will require passing at “a gender-neutral age-normed male-standard scored above 70%.” He told leaders to stop babying everyone and to let drill sergeants be scary again.
The grooming part made the nursery go quiet. “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression,” he said. “If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave.” He called it a broken-windows issue and declared, “No more beardos.” PT is now every duty day, and everyone takes a PT test twice a year, from “the joint chiefs… to the youngest private.”
Hegseth also swung at what he called “woke garbage,” listing things he says are done: “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship… No more debris.” He said promotions will be “colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based,” and that some senior officers already got fired. If this speech “makes your heart sink,” he told them to “do the honorable thing and resign.”
He said complaints systems were “weaponized” and promised “no more walking on eggshells.” He wants fewer PowerPoints, more range time. Basic training goes back to scary: “Yes, they can shark attack. They can toss bunks. They can swear. And yes, they can put their hands on recruits.” He closed with a prayer and a mission: “We fight to win,” with “common sense, maximum lethality.” Then he promised, “President Trump has your back and so do I,” and said the president would speak next.
Choice Quotes (exact words)
“Good morning and welcome to the War Department because the era of the Department of Defense is over.”
“From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this… War fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win.”
“No more beards… If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave.”
“No more beardos.”
“Standards must be uniform, genderneutral, and high.”
“Yes, they can shark attack. They can toss bunks. They can swear. And yes, they can put their hands on recruits.”
Both Sides’ Reaction
Babies who clapped say this fixes a long slide into mushy applesauce. They believe hard standards prevent battlefield chaos and save lives. They argue grooming and fitness are signals of discipline, that merit means faster promotions for the sharpest rattle-shakers, and that fewer briefings means more real training. They think scary boot camp builds trust when the blocks start flying.
Babies who threw their blocks say the beard war and the speech’s culture talk could shove out good troops and invite lawsuits. They worry “highest male standard” rules will shut doors on capable people and that “hands on recruits” opens abuse risk. They think trashing DEI and changing complaints systems will chill reporting and hide problems. They also point to religion and medical issues for facial hair and ask who decides what’s “professional.” They fear the nursery becomes louder, not stronger.
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