There were no "firings" or "loyalty oaths" but what Secretary of Defense (War) Pete Hegseth called a "liberation" for "America's warriors" as he spoke to more than 800 generals and admirals brought in for a mandatory meeting in Virginia this morning.
"A few months ago, I was at the White House when President Trump announced his liberation day for America's trade policy. It was a landmark day, while today is another Liberation Day, the liberation of America's warriors in name, in deed and in authorities," Hegseth told his audience against the backdrop of a huge American flag.
After a long lead up about how the Trump administration was stripping from the military all elements of diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) programs and re-focusing the institution on "the M" (the military) — "we have entire departments across the government dedicated to diplomatic, informational and informational and economic lines of effort. We do the M nobody else does, and (we) need to master it in every domain and every scenario. No more distractions, no more political ideologies, no more debris — Hegseth explained what being a "warrior" for the United States really means." Apparently, it is no longer "national defense."
"We are preparing every day. We have to be prepared for war, not for defense. We're training warriors, not defenders. We fight wars to win, not to defend. Defense is something you do all the time. It's inherently reactionary, and can lead to overuse, overreach and mission creep. War is something you do sparingly, on our own terms and with clear aims. We fight to win. We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy."
To this end, the warrior is also "reactionary" in which someone (in the Pentagon? In the rest of the government?) tells them who the enemy is and then they unleash the pain.
"We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for war fighters," he said. "It's very simple yet incredibly powerful."
Hegseth told this audience of top brass that if his words made their hearts sink, they should do the right thing and resign. If it makes their hearts soar, then "you are hereby liberated to be an apolitical, hard charging, no nonsense, constitutional leader that you joined the military to be."
Afterwards, Trump signed an executive order declaring the "Department of War" name change and is expected to address the convocation in Virginia shortly.
