Hegseth pledges to end ‘politically correct’ leadership in US armed forces
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of US military officials to an in-person meeting on Tuesday to declare an end to woke culture in the military and announce new directives for troops, including gender-neutral or male-level standards for physical fitness.
Hegseth and President Donald Trump had abruptly called military leaders from around the world to convene at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, without publicly revealing the reason until the morning of the meeting. Hegseth’s address largely focused on his well-known talking points, painting a picture of a military hamstrung by woke policies. He stated that military leaders should do the honourable thing and resign if they do not agree with his new approach.
While meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are common, the haste and secrecy surrounding this gathering fueled intense speculation about its purpose. Admirals and generals from conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere were summoned for a lecture on race and gender in the military. This underscored how the country’s culture wars have become a front-and-centre agenda item for Hegseth’s Pentagon, even amid broad national security concerns worldwide.
During his nearly hour-long speech, Hegseth criticized the military for promoting leaders based on race, gender quotas, and historic firsts rather than merit. “The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” he declared.
He announced that he is loosening disciplinary rules and weakening hazing protections, focusing on removing many of the guardrails put in place after various scandals and investigations. Hegseth ordered a review of the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying, and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing.
He also called for changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records, allowing leaders with forgivable, earnest, or minor infractions not to be burdened by those infractions permanently. “People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes.”
This shift comes amid concerns over bullying and toxic leadership, which have been linked to numerous military suicides in recent years, including the tragic 2018 suicide of Brandon Caserta, a young sailor who was bullied into taking his own life. A Navy investigation found that Caserta’s supervisors’ belligerent and vulgar leadership was likely a significant contributing factor in his decision.
Hegseth used the platform to slam physical fitness and grooming standards, environmental policies, and transgender troops while emphasizing his and President Trump’s focus on the warrior ethos and peace through strength.
“The department has been told from previous administrations that our diversity is our strength, which I call an insane fallacy,” Hegseth said. “They had to put out dizzying DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and LGBTQE+ statements. They were told females and males are the same thing, or that males who think they’re females is totally normal.” He also criticized the use of electric tanks and COVID vaccine requirements as misguided policies.
Hegseth clarified that this is not about preventing women from serving. However, “when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender-neutral,” he said. “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.”
During the speech, President Trump spoke for an hour and 13 minutes on a variety of subjects. Although the military is designed to handle foreign threats, the president emphasized his vision of using it for domestic purposes. “It’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control,” Trump said.
His remarks referred to criminals and immigrants who are in the country illegally. He also complained about insurrectionists allegedly funded by the radical left. “Many of our leaders used our military to keep peace,” he added.
Hegseth’s speech comes as the country faces a potential government shutdown this week. Known for his strong focus on military lethality, Hegseth has also taken several unusual and unexplained actions recently, including ordering cuts to the number of general officers and firing other top military leaders.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/hegseth-pledges-to-end-politically-correct-leadership-in-us-armed-forces-1813004.html
