Headlines, 9-30-25: USA Sec War Hegseth: 'No DEI, fat, beards, long hair, weakness...'

Transcript*: 9-30-25, 45 min video Speech
USA Dept of War Secretary Pete Hegseth [excerpt]:
 
“Joint Chiefs, Generals, Admirals, Commanders, Officers, Senior Enlisted, NCOs, Enlisted, & every member of our American military, good morning. [..] Our number one job, of course, is to be strong so that we can prevent war in the first place… peace through strength. That’s why pacifism is naive & dangerous. It ignores human nature & human history. Either you protect your people & your sovereignty, or you will be subservient to something or someone. Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision & ferocity of the War Dept. In other words, to our enemies, F-A-F-O. [F-ck around find out]
 
The topic today is about the nature of ourselves because no plan, no program, no reform, no formation will ultimately succeed unless we have the right people & the right culture at the War Dept. [..] The best way to take care of troops is to give them good leaders committed to the warfighting culture of the Dept.
 
The USA military has been forced by foolish & reckless politicians to focus on the wrong things… I’m talking about fixing decades of decay, some of it obvious, some of it hidden. Or, as the chairman has put it, we are clearing out the debris, removing the distractions, clearing the way for leaders to be leaders. [..] We’re ending the war on warriors; we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons, based on their race, gender quotas, historic so-called firsts. We’ve pretended that combat arms & non-combat arms are the same thing. Foolish & reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading & we lost our way. We became the “woke” dept, but not anymore [..] 

We must do better… remove the social justice, politically correct & toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department, to rip out the politics. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris… we are done with that shit.
 
 I’ve made it my mission to uproot the obvious distractions that made us less capable & less lethal. Underneath the woke garbage is a deeper problem & a more important problem that we are fixing & fixing fast. Common sense is back.
 
The litmus test … my son is no more important than any other American citizen’s child who dons the cloth of our nation. He is no more important than yours. Think of it as the GOLDEN RULE TEST. Jesus said, do unto others that which you would have done unto yourself. Would you want him serving with fat or unfit or under-trained troops, alongside people who can’t meet basic standards, in a unit where standards were lowered so certain types of troops could make it in, where leaders were promoted for reasons other than merit, performance, & war fighting? Alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as strong men? The answer is not just no, it’s hell no.
 
Standards must be uniform, gender neutral, & high. If not, they’re not standards. They’re just suggestions. Suggestions that get our sons & daughters killed. The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t hurt anyone’s feelings leadership ends right now. At every level, either you can meet the standard, either you can do the job, either you’re disciplined, fit, & trained, or you’re out. My directives returns to the highest male standard only; because this job is life or death.
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​ They’ll resemble the Army expert physical fitness assessment or the Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test. War fighters in combat jobs execute their service fitness test at a gender-neutral, age-normed male standard scored above 70%. It all starts with physical fitness & appearance.
 
Frankly, it’s tiring to see formation with fat troops. It’s unacceptable to see fat generals & admirals in the halls of the Pentagon & leading commands around the country & the world. … all need to meet the height & weight standards & pass your PT test; every rank is required to take a PT test twice a year, as well as meet height & weight requirements twice a year. It’s common sense - & we’re not talking like hot yoga & stretching. Real hard PT, either as a unit or as an individual. At every level, from the Joint Chiefs to everyone in this room to the youngest private, leaders set the standard. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression; the era of unprofessional appearance is over.
 
Simply put, if you do not meet the male-level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test, or don’t want to shave & look professional, it’s time for a new position or a new profession. Standards will be returned to the 1990 test & the E6 test. The E6 test or O3 test clarifies a lot & quickly. 

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Our female officers & NCOs are the absolute best in the world. But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high & 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. It will also means that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat where you must trust that the warrior alongside you in battle is capable, truly physically capable of doing what is necessary under fire. You know this is the only standard you would want for your kids & for your grandkids - the War Dept Golden Rule, the 1990 test, & the E6 test, & it’s really hard to go wrong.
 
We’re ending the “walking on eggshells” command culture. As senior leaders we need to end the poisonous culture of risk aversion & empower our NCOs at all levels to enforce standards. We just need to reestablish a culture where enforcing standards is possible. And that’s why today at my direction, I’m issuing new policies that will overhaul the IG, EO, & MEO processes.
 
We’re drastically reducing the ridiculous amount of mandatory training that individuals & units must execute. We’ve already ended the most egregious. Less PowerPoint briefings & fewer online courses, more time in the motor pool, & more time on the range. We’re drastically reducing the ridiculous amount of mandatory training that individuals & units must execute. We’ve already ended the most egregious. Less PowerPoint briefings & fewer online courses, more time in the motor pool, & more time on the range. Now we’re giving you back real time.
 
We are liberating you;  overhauling an Inspector General process, the IG, that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues & poor performers in the driver’s seat. 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. Of course, being a racist has been illegal in our formation since 1948. The same goes for sexual harassment that were wrong & illegal.
Those kinds of infractions will be ruthlessly enforced. However, telling someone to shave or get a haircut or to get in shape or to fix their uniform or to show up on time or to work hard, that’s exactly the kind of discrimination we want. 

You are not civilians. Anonymous, online, or keyboard complaining is not worthy of a warrior. It’s cowardice masquerading as conscience. Anonymous, unit-level social media pages that trash commanders, demoralize troops, & undermine unit cohesion must not be tolerated. 
You are set apart for a distinct purpose; we need to stop acting & thinking like civilians & get back to basics & put the power back in the hands of commanders & NCOs. Commanders & NCOs who make life & death decisions. Commanders & NCOs who enforce standards & ensure readiness and leadership,

​These directives are designed to take the monkey off your back & put you, the leadership, back in the driver’s seat.
 
People make honest mistakes & our mistakes should not define an entire career. Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes, & that’s not the business we’re in. We need risk-takers & aggressive leaders & a culture that supports you.
 
At the War Dept promotions across the Joint Force will be based on one thing = merit. Colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based.  We’ll promote top-performing officers & NCOs faster & get rid of poor performers more quickly. Evaluations, education, & field exercises will become real evaluations, not box checks, for every one of us at every level.
 
The media has obsessed that I have fired a number of senior officers - previous chairman, other members of the Joint Chiefs, combatant commanders, & other commanders. The rationale for me has been straightforward. My approach has been simple. When in doubt, assess the situation, follow your gut, & if it’s the best for the military, make a change. We all serve at the pleasure of the president every single day. As foolish & reckless as the woke department was, those officers were following elected political leadership – [so it’s not their fault they obeyed.] An entire generation of generals & admirals were told that they must parrot the insane fallacy that, quote, “our diversity is our strength.” Of course, we know our unity is our strength. They even had to put out dizzying DEI & LGBTQI plus statements. They were told: females & males are the same thing, males who think they’re females are totally normal, we need a green fleet & electric tanks and they were told to kick out Americans who refused an emergency  [Covid] vaccine. [..]

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​​The new compass heading is clear. Out with the Shirelis, the McKenzies, & the Millies & in with the Stockdales, the Schwarzkopfs & the Pattons. More leadership changes will be made of that I’m certain.[..]

Now, of course, we’re going to disagree at times. We would not be Americans if we didn’t. You will win some arguments, & you will lose some. You are in a dangerous line of work. We may lose good people. But let no warrior cry out from the grave, if only I had been properly trained. Train like your warriors’ lives depend on it. Because they do. To that point, basic training is being restored to what it should be. Scary, tough, & disciplined.

We need to ensure that every member of our uniformed military maintains baseline proficiency in BASIC combat skills. We have to be prepared for war, not for defense. War is something you do sparingly ... We unleash overwhelming & punishing violence on the enemy.

We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt & kill the enemies of our country. 

Just common sense, maximum lethality, & authority for war fighters. That’s all I ever wanted as a platoon leader, & it’s all my E6 squad leaders ever wanted. We fight to win; you kill people & break things for a living. You’re not politically correct & don’t necessarily belong always in polite society. You are different. We fight not because we hate what’s in front of us; we fight because we love what’s behind us. 
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In closing, a few weeks ago at our monthly Pentagon Christian Prayer Service I recited this prayer ending like this: 
“And most of all, Lord, please keep my soldiers safe. Lead them, guide them, protect them, watch over them. And as you gave all of Yourself for me, help me give all of myself for them. Amen & amen.”

Move out and draw fire, because we are the War Department. Godspeed.”

*Full original transcript 12 pages 45 min here:
https://www.sofx.com/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-address-to-military-leaders-full-transcript

See 45 min video here on YouTube