‘We Became the Woke Department’: Hegseth Lays Out Heightened Standards of War Department

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth slammed “foolish and reckless political leaders ” who turned the War Department into the “Woke Department.”

“For too long, we promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons—based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts,” Hegseth said. “We’ve pretended that combat arms and non-combat arms are the same thing. We’ve weeded out so-called toxic leaders under the guise of double-blind psychology assessments.”

“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass, and we lost our way,” he continued. “We became the Woke Department.”

Hegseth spoke at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to a group of top U.S. military leaders from around the world.

He said “no plan, no program, no reform, no formation, will ultimately succeed unless we have the right people and the right culture at the War Department.”

“If I’ve learned one cool lesson in my eight months in this job, it’s that personnel is policy,” he said.

Hegseth said the days of lowering standards to meet woke quotas are over.

“If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,“ he said. “It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify, because we’re not playing games.”

“This is combat,” he added. “This is life or death.”

The best way to care for the troops is to give them strong leaders who are faithful to their oath and the Constitution, Hegseth said.

President Donald Trump, who spoke after Hegseth, said history has shown that military supremacy is about more than money or manpower.

“At the end of the day, it is the culture and spirit of our military that truly sets us apart from any other nation,” Trump said. “Our ultimate strength will always come from the fierce people … the unbending will, and the traditions of excellence that have made us the most unstoppable force ever to walk the face of the earth.”

Trump teased further announcements reaffirming the Department of War’s identity.

“The name change reflects far more than the shift in branding—it’s really a historic reassertion of our purpose, our identity, and our pride,” Trump said. “Together, we’re reawakening the warrior spirit.”

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