‘We Will Never Back Down’: Pete Hegseth Delivers Message To U.S. Forces

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told members of the U.S. military that he will carry out President Donald Trump’s mission of restoring peace through strength by implementing three principles.

Hegseth made the remarks in a statement released through the Department of Defense after he was confirmed over the weekend to be the Secretary of Defense.

“We will put America First, and we will never back down,” Hegseth said. “The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence.”

Hegseth continued:

• We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.
• We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world.
• We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland — on the ground and in the sky. We will work with allies and partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by Communist China, as well as supporting the President’s priority to end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats. We will stand by our allies — and our enemies are on notice.

Hegseth said that the military will focus on “lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.”

He said that he will always have the backs of U.S. service members and that the military will “stand shoulder to shoulder to meet the urgency of this moment.”

“Like each of you, I love my country and swore an oath to defend the Constitution,” he concluded. “We will do that each and every day, as one team. Together we will accomplish the President’s mission to deter war, and if necessary, defeat and destroy our enemies. Godspeed!”