‘A Major Upgrade’: Hegseth Inspires Troops By Working Out With Green Berets

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, visiting an American military base in Germany, decided to emphasize the kind of fitness demanded by the military under President Donald Trump by working out with the elite Special Forces Group of the Green Berets.

Pete Hegseth kicked off his day in Germany training with the elite Green Berets of 1/10 SFG, one of the U.S. Army’s most formidable Special Forces units.

Never seen a US Secrtary of defense do this before . pic.twitter.com/I6OMMSU7tx

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 11, 2025

A major upgrade. pic.twitter.com/BdFC9LSAEX

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 11, 2025

Spent time with the command teams @US_EUCOM—frontline leaders who understand the mission.

Thank you Gen. Cavoli for the briefing. pic.twitter.com/CfPGPVZgiQ

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) February 11, 2025

Hegseth, 44, is in Germany as part of his trip to Europe, which also includes stops in Belgium and Poland to discuss military operations with America’s military leaders abroad. In Germany, Hegseth had plans to visit U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) headquarters, also meeting with U.S. service members stationed there to “reaffirm the administration’s commitment to their mission and readiness,” the U.S. Embassy in Poland reported, adding, “Throughout this trip, Secretary Hegseth will emphasize the importance of strengthening alliances, increasing defense readiness, and ensuring that American warfighters remain the most lethal force in the world by demonstrating peace through strength.”

At a townhall at the Pentagon on Friday, Hegseth stated:

What I what I want to bring to this job and to the ethos, is a recognition of the men and women who do the dirty work all day long for us here, across the world. Every time I speak, or every time in my previous procession, profession, I was on television, and I got the bright lights and spotlight and people are looking to me, I always step back for a second to think about the men and women that I served with. 

The folks that are never going to be introduced, never going to have a microphone. Never going to be heard from. The men and women that you know that you served with who are the best of the best in our country. That’s who we serve. 

“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is Our Diversity is Our Strength,” he declared. “I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, in this department we will treat everyone equally. We will treat everyone with fairness. We will treat everyone with respect. And we will judge you as an individual by your merit and by your commitment to the team and the mission. That’s how it has been. That’s how it will be.”

Later, he said succinctly, “I would much rather talk to troops than go to cocktail parties. That’s my job.”

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