US military must fix 'decades of decay', scrap 'woke' agenda, says Hegseth in speech to top brass

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday slammed what he called “decades of decay” in the American military and promised major changes to end “woke” policies and bring back high standards.

Speaking to hundreds of generals and admirals assembled in Quantico, Virginia — many called back from posts around the world — Hegseth laid out a vision for a reformed military focused solely on combat readiness, discipline, and merit.

“The military has been forced by foolish and reckless politicians to focus on the wrong things,” AFP quoted Hegseth as saying.

“We became the ‘woke department.’ But not anymore,” he added.

In a speech marked by blunt language, Hegseth declared an end to what he called “ideological garbage,” citing concerns over climate change, diversity-focused promotions, and social initiatives.

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“We cannot go another day without directly addressing the plank in our own eye, without addressing the problems in our own commands, and in our own formations,” CNN quoted Hegseth as saying.

“This administration has done a great deal from day one to remove the social justice, politically correct, and 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,” he said.

“As I’ve said before, and will say again, we are done with that shit,” he added.

Hegseth also emphasised the importance of fitness and discipline, saying he no longer wants to see “fat generals and admirals” or out-of-shape troops in US combat formations.

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“It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country, in the world. It’s a bad look,” Hegseth said.

“It is bad, and it’s not who we are,” he added.

He said that physical readiness begins at the top, pointing to his own fitness routine as a model.

“It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the Secretary of War can do regular, hard PT [physical training], so can every member of our joint force

“Today at my direction, every member of the joint force, at every rank, is required … [to] meet height and weight requirements twice a year every year,” he added.

Hegseth has made physical standards and combat readiness central to his push for what he calls a renewed “warrior ethos.”

As part of that, he also announced that all personnel in combat roles must now meet the “highest male standard” of their respective fitness tests, scoring at least 70%.

“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same Combat Arms physical standards as men, or troops who are not fully proficient on their assigned weapons, platform, or task, or under a leader who was the first but not the best,” Hegseth said. “Standards must be uniform, gender neutral, and high.”

Hegseth has long criticised what he sees as the politicisation of the military, especially through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes and gender integration in combat roles.

During his Senate confirmation earlier this year, he was challenged by lawmakers to provide evidence of lowered standards, but did not offer conclusive data.

“When it comes to combat arms units, and there are many different stripes across our joint force, the era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t hurt anyone’s feelings leadership ends right now,” he said. “At every level, either you can meet the standard, either you can do the job, either you are disciplined, fit, and trained — or you are out.”

With inputs from agencies