1. The Era of the Department of Defense Is Over

Hegseth welcomed the military attendees to the War Department and then told them that “the era of the Department of Defense is over.” He clarified that by saying, “those who long for peace must prepare for war. This is, of course, not a new idea. This crowd knows that.”

He referenced the origin of that concept as being part of the mentality of Rome’s fourth-century military, and added that it has been “repeated ever since, including by our first commander in chief, George Washington, the first leader of the War Department. It captures a simple yet profound truth: to ensure peace, we must prepare for war.”

Hegseth highlighted the War Department’s mission going forward as, “Warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win…not because we want war…but because we love peace. We love peace for our fellow citizens. They deserve peace, and they rightfully expect us to deliver.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Bo Zaunders

2. Peace through Strength and a Moment of Urgency

Hegseth credited President Trump for the idea of “peace through strength,” and went on to speak about the U.S. Military as “the strongest, most powerful, most lethal, and most prepared military on the planet.”

He also noted that the day and time in which the citizens of this country are living is one of “mounting urgency. Enemies gather. Threats grow. There is no time for games. We must be prepared.”

He pointed out that the U.S. Military is the “strength part of peace through strength, and either we’re ready to win or we are not.”

He spoke of the importance of having the tools to help obtain victory, and how that list continues to necessarily grow, including hardware, munitions, drones, software, and in some cases, even AI. War is costly, and for all of America’s strength, America still can’t do everything. Hegseth said that other countries need to be called on to step up and do their part on the world scene.

He hinted that he would be speaking about “speed, innovation, and general acquisition reforms” as well as “threats we face in our hemisphere and in deterring China” on another day. For this speech, he wanted to address a different set of concerns.

Photo Credit: Aaron Burden/Unsplash 

3. Troops Entitled to Be Led by the Most Competent Leaders

“In combat, there are thousands of variables, as I learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as so many of you did in so many more places. Leaders can only control about three of them. You control how well you're trained, mostly how well you're equipped, and the last variable is how well you lead. After that, you're on your own,” Hegseth said.

That being the case, he pointed out that America’s military men and women deserve to be led by leaders who are the best and most competent. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the standard.

 “The military has been forced by foolish and reckless politicians to focus on the wrong things,” he said. So he wants to take steps to correct that. Hegseth said he wouldn’t want his son in a military unit where “standards were lowered so certain types of troops could make it in, in a unit where leaders were promoted for reasons other than merit, performance, and warfighting.” And he believes other parents feel the same way about their sons and daughters, so the military will be returning to a merit, performance, and warfighting standard where decisions about promotions are made. 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tasos Katopodis/Stringer

4. Hegseth Adding Combat Field Test for Combat Arms Units

Hegseth spoke about the importance of military troops being in shape in order to be able to do the work of the military, and 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 and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”

Perhaps also on Hegseth’s mind was a report that was released by the Department of Defense back in 2023 that found that, “Only 23 percent of young people between 17 and 24 even qualify to join the military. Even fewer have expressed the ‘propensity’ to enlist,” officials said.

This would definitely be a problem in a time of war, and especially if the draft had to be reinstated. 

Photo Credit:  Unsplash/Chuanchai Pundej

5. Putting an End to WOKE Policy

Hegseth brought up the fact that he has fired a large number of personnel since he took on the position as Secretary of the War Department. “The rationale, for me, has been straightforward. It's nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create or even benefited from that culture, even if that culture was created by a previous president and a previous secretary.”

He assured the crowd that implementing DEI and LGBTQI+ policy wasn’t going to be a part of military policy going forward, and that such policy was “set by foolish and reckless political leaders. Our job, my job, has been to determine which leaders simply did what they must to answer the prerogatives of civilian leadership and which leaders are truly invested in the woke department and therefore are incapable of embracing the War Department and executing new lawful orders.”

Hegseth added that there will likely be more leadership changes made in the future because, where military operations are concerned, having the right people in the right places is “a matter of life and death. The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy.” 

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Philip Rozenski

1. The Era of the Department of Defense Is Over

Hegseth welcomed the military attendees to the War Department and then told them that “the era of the Department of Defense is over.” He clarified that by saying, “those who long for peace must prepare for war. This is, of course, not a new idea. This crowd knows that.”

He referenced the origin of that concept as being part of the mentality of Rome’s fourth-century military, and added that it has been “repeated ever since, including by our first commander in chief, George Washington, the first leader of the War Department. It captures a simple yet profound truth: to ensure peace, we must prepare for war.”

Hegseth highlighted the War Department’s mission going forward as, “Warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win…not because we want war…but because we love peace. We love peace for our fellow citizens. They deserve peace, and they rightfully expect us to deliver.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Bo Zaunders

2. Peace through Strength and a Moment of Urgency

Hegseth credited President Trump for the idea of “peace through strength,” and went on to speak about the U.S. Military as “the strongest, most powerful, most lethal, and most prepared military on the planet.”

He also noted that the day and time in which the citizens of this country are living is one of “mounting urgency. Enemies gather. Threats grow. There is no time for games. We must be prepared.”

He pointed out that the U.S. Military is the “strength part of peace through strength, and either we’re ready to win or we are not.”

He spoke of the importance of having the tools to help obtain victory, and how that list continues to necessarily grow, including hardware, munitions, drones, software, and in some cases, even AI. War is costly, and for all of America’s strength, America still can’t do everything. Hegseth said that other countries need to be called on to step up and do their part on the world scene.

He hinted that he would be speaking about “speed, innovation, and general acquisition reforms” as well as “threats we face in our hemisphere and in deterring China” on another day. For this speech, he wanted to address a different set of concerns.

Photo Credit: Aaron Burden/Unsplash 

3. Troops Entitled to Be Led by the Most Competent Leaders

“In combat, there are thousands of variables, as I learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as so many of you did in so many more places. Leaders can only control about three of them. You control how well you're trained, mostly how well you're equipped, and the last variable is how well you lead. After that, you're on your own,” Hegseth said.

That being the case, he pointed out that America’s military men and women deserve to be led by leaders who are the best and most competent. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the standard.

 “The military has been forced by foolish and reckless politicians to focus on the wrong things,” he said. So he wants to take steps to correct that. Hegseth said he wouldn’t want his son in a military unit where “standards were lowered so certain types of troops could make it in, in a unit where leaders were promoted for reasons other than merit, performance, and warfighting.” And he believes other parents feel the same way about their sons and daughters, so the military will be returning to a merit, performance, and warfighting standard where decisions about promotions are made. 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tasos Katopodis/Stringer

4. Hegseth Adding Combat Field Test for Combat Arms Units

Hegseth spoke about the importance of military troops being in shape in order to be able to do the work of the military, and 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 and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”

Perhaps also on Hegseth’s mind was a report that was released by the Department of Defense back in 2023 that found that, “Only 23 percent of young people between 17 and 24 even qualify to join the military. Even fewer have expressed the ‘propensity’ to enlist,” officials said.

This would definitely be a problem in a time of war, and especially if the draft had to be reinstated. 

Photo Credit:  Unsplash/Chuanchai Pundej

5. Putting an End to WOKE Policy

Hegseth brought up the fact that he has fired a large number of personnel since he took on the position as Secretary of the War Department. “The rationale, for me, has been straightforward. It's nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create or even benefited from that culture, even if that culture was created by a previous president and a previous secretary.”

He assured the crowd that implementing DEI and LGBTQI+ policy wasn’t going to be a part of military policy going forward, and that such policy was “set by foolish and reckless political leaders. Our job, my job, has been to determine which leaders simply did what they must to answer the prerogatives of civilian leadership and which leaders are truly invested in the woke department and therefore are incapable of embracing the War Department and executing new lawful orders.”

Hegseth added that there will likely be more leadership changes made in the future because, where military operations are concerned, having the right people in the right places is “a matter of life and death. The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy.” 

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Philip Rozenski