Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared it “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals” during an extraordinary gathering of America’s top military brass, announcing sweeping new fitness standards that will require all service members, including four-star generals, to pass physical tests twice yearly.
Speaking to hundreds of generals and admirals summoned from around the world to Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday, Mr Hegseth launched a blistering attack on what he called the military’s declining physical standards, declaring: “It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
The defense secretary’s blunt remarks came as he unveiled a radical overhaul of military culture, including the official rebranding of the Pentagon as the “Department of War” and the implementation of what he called a return to the “warrior ethos.”
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Mr Hegseth told the packed auditorium in Virginia. “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.”
Unprecedented Military Gathering
The meeting itself was highly unusual, with military leaders given just days’ notice to fly in from posts worldwide without being told the purpose. Some officials had speculated about everything from mass firings to a group fitness test, with one official dubbing it “the general squid games.”
The gathering of roughly 800 generals, admirals and their senior enlisted advisers raised security concerns about concentrating so many high-ranking officers in one location. Retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis called the event a “security risk” given the concentration of military leadership.
President Donald Trump joined the meeting, using the platform to declare the military would become “stronger, tougher, faster, fiercer and more powerful than it has ever been before.” The president, speaking for over an hour, also discussed using troops in American cities, stating: “This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.
Sweeping New Standards
Mr Hegseth announced ten new directives that fundamentally reshape military standards and culture:
Physical Fitness Requirements: Every member of the joint force, from “a brand new private to a four-star general,” must take a physical fitness test twice yearly and meet height and weight requirements. “If the Secretary of War can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force,” Hegseth declared.
Combat Standards: All personnel in combat positions must meet “the highest male standard only” of their service’s physical fitness test. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” Hegseth stated. “This is combat. This is life or death.”
Grooming Standards: The military will enforce stricter appearance rules, including bans on beards and long hair for male service members, except for Special Forces personnel. “No more beardos,” Hegseth announced. “The era of unacceptable appearance is over.”
‘Woke Garbage’ Purge
The defense secretary framed the changes as purging what he called “woke garbage” from the military, stating that the Pentagon had lost its way and become the “woke department.”
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now,” Mr Hegseth declared. “No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris.”
He announced the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices, calling for an end to “identity months” and what he described as “climate change worship.” The secretary also ordered a review of definitions of “toxic leadership,” “bullying” and “hazing,” suggesting these terms had been weaponised against commanders trying to maintain standards.
“Upholding and demanding high standards is not toxic,” Hegseth argued. “Endangering subordinates with low standards, promoting people based on immutable characteristics or quotas instead of merit – that’s toxic leadership.”
Military Funding and Priorities
President Trump used the gathering to announce a commitment of $1 trillion (£790 billion) in military spending for 2026, though neither he nor Hegseth addressed the looming government shutdown that could delay military pay.
Mr Hegseth emphasised that the newly renamed Department of War would focus exclusively on “warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win.” He told the assembled officers: “To ensure peace, we must prepare for war. Not because we want war, but because we want peace.”
The defense secretary also revealed he had ordered significant reductions in senior military ranks earlier this year, including a 20 per cent cut in four-star positions and a 10 per cent reduction across all general and flag officer ranks.
Resignation Offer
In a direct challenge to those who might disagree with the new direction, Mr Hegseth made it clear that dissenting officers were free to leave.
“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 and look professional, it’s time for a new position or a new profession,” he stated.
The secretary added that anyone who had a problem with the administration’s Pentagon overhaul was “welcome to resign.”
Military Response
The gathering exposed divisions between the Pentagon’s political and uniformed leadership, with multiple top officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, reportedly voicing concerns about the Trump administration’s defence strategy.
Before taking office, Mr Hegseth had repeatedly criticised senior military officers, claiming in a podcast last summer that a third of them were “actively complicit” in politicising the military and that they were “playing by all the wrong rules” to cater to “ideologues in Washington.”
The new standards represent a dramatic shift in military culture and priorities, with Mr Hegseth promising next month to showcase “speed innovations and general acquisition reforms” whilst maintaining that Tuesday’s speech was about “people and culture.”
As active-duty troops face potential pay delays due to the government shutdown, the military’s senior leadership now confronts fundamental changes to how America’s armed forces will operate under what Mr Hegseth calls the restored “Department of War.”
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Image Credit:
Pete Hegseth — photo by Gage Skidmore, cropped, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
