Hegseth, Trump Push Military Cultural Reset

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump abruptly summoned roughly 800 generals and admirals to Marine Corps Base Quantico for a rare all‑hands where they declared an end to “woke” culture and vowed to rebuild a more lethal military. Hegseth announced concrete directives including gender‑neutral or “male‑level” physical standards, daily PT, twice‑yearly fitness and height/weight tests, combat field tests for some units, and stricter appearance rules criticizing facial hair and leaders he called “fat.” He also pledged personnel and policy changes — revamping whistleblower and reporting channels, removing certain minor infractions from records, urging leaders who disagree to resign, and warning against politicized oversight. The abrupt recall of worldwide commanders drew scrutiny for cost and operational disruption and prompted bipartisan concern and sharply divided media reaction about whether the rhetoric and policy shifts risk politicizing the uniformed leadership and eroding legal and ethical norms.