Hegseth and Trump declare end to ‘woke’ military – as defence secretary scolds ‘fat troops’
The US defence secretary has said he is ending “woke” culture and political correctness, telling top brass: “We are done with that s***.”
Pete Hegseth said diversity and inclusion policies would be rowed back, with changes including “gender-neutral” or “male-level” fitness standards for everyone.
He also hit out at “fat troops” and said height and weight requirements would be brought in – as well as twice-yearly fitness tests.
President Donald Trump was at the event and told reporters beforehand he was prepared to fire any generals or admirals he disliked “on the spot”.
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Trump rebrands ‘woke’ Pentagon as Department of War
Speaking in Quantico, Virginia, he said the new approach was “bringing back a focus on fitness, ability, character and strength [because] the purposes of American military is not to protect anyone’s feelings”.
Mr Hegseth drove home that message as he said the days of “the woke department” were over.
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” he said.
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusions,” added the newly rebranded secretary of war.
Mr Hegseth said the changes were not intended to stop women serving, but “physical standards must be high and gender neutral” for combat roles.
Pete Hegseth said the US military was kicking back against political correctness. Pic: Reuters
“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 mean that we mean that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”
Hundreds of US military officials from around the world had been summoned abruptly to the Marine Corps base without knowing why until Tuesday morning.
The gathering included admirals and generals called in from conflict zones in the Middle East.
Mr Hegseth told them grooming standards would also be raised, with beards, long hair and “individual expression” now prohibited – “the era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos”, he said.
“We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans, but unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refuse to call BS and enforce standards or leaders who felt like they were not allowed to enforce standards,” the defence secretary added.
Senior leaders were called in from around the world for the event. Pic: Reuters
A review of how bullying and hazing are defined will also take place to “empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing”.
Toxic leadership has been suspected and confirmed in many military suicides in recent years, including the high-profile case of sailor Brandon Caserta who killed himself in 2018.
The changes unveiled on Tuesday follow the recent rebranding of the US Department of Defense as the Department of War.
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President Trump said last month the name sent a “message of strength” – and his speech on Tuesday also lauded America’s nuclear weapons capability.
However, he said people shouldn’t “throw around” the word.
“I call it the N-word. There are two N-words, and you can’t use either of them,” he told commanders.
“You don’t have to be that good with nuclear,” the president added. “You could have one-twentieth what you have now and still do the damage that would be, you know, that’d be so horrendous.”
Donald Trump used part of his address to laud his country’s nuclear arsenal. Pic: Reuters
He cited his repositioning of nuclear submarines in August in response to comments by Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev.
“We were a little bit threatened by Russia recently, and I sent a submarine, nuclear submarine, the most lethal weapon ever made,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday.
“Number one, you can’t detect it. There’s no way. We’re 25 years ahead of Russia and China in submarines.”
“Frankly, if it does get to use, we have more than anybody else,” the president said of America’s nuclear arsenal.
“We have better, we have newer, but it’s something we don’t ever want to even have to think about.”
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
Donald Trump has said he will cancel all executive orders that he claims were signed with an autopen by his predecessor Joe Biden.
The US president alleged Mr Biden was “not involved” in signing the orders and claimed “the radical left lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the presidency away from him”. He did not provide any evidence for his claims.
An autopen is a device which reproduces a person’s signature, allowing them to repeatedly sign documents without having to do so by hand each time.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.
“The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.”
He added: “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.
“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
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Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed Mr Biden was not mentally capable by the end of his term and his staff made decisions on his behalf, using an autopen to sign them off without his knowledge.
Mr Trump has not provided any evidence for his claims, while Mr Biden and his former aides have denied they made decisions on his behalf.
In June, Mr Biden said: “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency.
“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Mr Trump has also used an autopen, but claimed he only used it “for very unimportant papers”.
Pic: Reuters
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Trump trolls Biden with new ‘presidential portrait’
Earlier this year, Mr Trump replaced a portrait of Mr Biden in the Oval Office with a picture of an autopen signing the former president’s name.
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