All I can say is it’s about time…
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a rousing speech to military leaders during a conference on Tuesday.
During his speech, he highlighted the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from the military while wiping out the woke leftist influence that crept into its ranks under the Biden administration.
“This administration has done a great deal from day one to remove the social justice, politically correct, and toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department, to rip out the politics,” Hegseth said. “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction, or gender delusions, no more debris, said before, and we’ll say again, we are done with that sh*t.”
Full article with videos, HERE from Town Hall.
Since I’m an old fart, I didn’t ‘see’ the BS back in the day before I retired. After I went back to work for the Navy, yes, I saw the crap coming down and wasn’t happy about it then, and certainly not today.
Hegseth and Trump have certainly upset a LOT of applecarts with these changes. Actually having to prepare for war? How gauche! Actually meet standards? But, but (insert exclusion here)… Well, all that is gone, at least for now. And one set of fitness standards? But that…excludes women!
Eh, not really. A woman in good shape should be able to do that at the 70% level, which is the minimum mandate. And weak men won’t make that benchmark either…
I can see some heart attacks coming from some of the senior Army types though. The Marines won’t have any problems, the Navy will have some (not a lot of tracks on ships/subs), and I pity the chairforce types…
Is it right? IMHO, if you’re going to fight, yes! If you’re going to posture and pander (which they have been doing a lot of), not so much. One unmentioned bonus is that I think this will take some of the load off the special forces communities as others get in shape to do their assigned missions.
At least one hopes…
I liked the address given to the Generals , Admirals , and high ranking NCO’s by Hegseth . He laid it out pretty well . He said a lot of things I’ve said in the past and recently , perhaps some even here on your blog Sir . I watched the Hegseth portion (skipped Trump) and saw a bunch of stone cold expressionless faces on the uniformed audience . I couldn’t get a good read on how they were taking it . Hegseth was straightforward and to the point , it wasn’t really a dressing down session , more of an explanation of expectations for the military “from this point forward” kinda thing . I’m still chewing on it , the fat boys and girls in the ranks need to be wary , Clinton did this in the 90’s , with the body fat failures and the RIF and offering Voluntary Separation Incentives . Time to buy some new comfortable running shoes for many .
The often repeated mantra for military forces is to kill the enemy and/or break their stuff. The new Secretary of War has his head on straight on what needs to happen.
For the ‘Chairforce’ (Like that term ! :^) indoor types, chair yoga and prison cell work outs might be for you. Done indoors and in cramped living conditions. We can all be in better shape than what we are now. Even us ‘seasoned citizens’.
The out of shape chairforce strains the healthcare resources even if their out-of-shapeness doesn’t impact their job performance.
And unit cohesion demands a certain conformity.
Back when it was still the RCAF, the Canadians developed an exercise system for people stuck indoors for extended periods (DEW Line, Arctic watch stations, et cetera). Lots of isotonic and isometric stuff – push-ups, crunches, wall-sits, and so on.
Something I’m reminded of, looking at all those stern faces pissed off they got dragged from their perfumed offices along the potomac… Obummer forcibly retired all of the old-school generals and fighting warriors in the officer corps. Surely the readers here can remember the purge that took place, and rumblings of insurgency?
Those people, are not inclined to listen to Hegseth. If anything, this meeting (because they’re all pissed they were reminded of who works for whom), caused more of them to go against the wishes of the current administration.
And maybe THAT was the actual purpose.
I really expected a RIF on the spot.
They all have a history of performance reports and a document trail.
My dad loved tools, and he loved to use them. He didn’t mind me using his tools, as long as I took care of them. One caveat: He HATED to see a tool being put to a use it wasn’t designed for.
I learned that when he rebuked me for using the handle of a screwdriver to hammer in a nail. (I was 16 or 17 at the time.) It did a poor job, and damaged the screwdriver handle.
Q. Should the military be used to implement social policy?
A1. No, if it damages the PRIMARY mission of the military, which is to provide for the common defence.
A2. Yes, if it enhances the primary function of the military. I’m thinking here of Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the military in 1948.
Our common defence, per Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution, is an essential component of our government, and is not provided for in any other way than by the military. Therefore, I think that ANYTHING that hinders the mission MUST be dumped, at the peril of the survival of the republic.
My understanding of the heavy use of Special Forces recently is that it is because they have not only operational flexibility but also acquisition and training flexibility, all of which combine to make them more able to respond to changing circumstances.
Should these flexibilities spread to the wider military? I believe so. I believe the huge push for accountability in acquisition and safety in training has hindered a viable force without delivering the promised improvements.
Every soldier, every airman a rifleman. Maybe even sailor.
“The Sand Pebbles”, from back when every sailor was also a rifleman.
First step, in addition to all the above, eliminate the meal teams!
Have a “lean and mean” menu available it the chow halls. I would make it voluntary. Don’t make weight by the date? You’re out. You will know soon enough who wants to be a war fighter and who doesn’t.
Everybody encourage the over weight troops during PT. Once a week inspection in ranks for those over weight by the unit CO. A “Well done” from the CO to each troop on the weight they have lost.
When I was in basic, one of the guys who smoked too much, but looked relatively fit otherwise, was struggling to make the 1.5 mile run to graduate. Made all the other tests.
I got on one side and a friend on the other and helped him over the line. He went into Security Police. Did his time and joined the Wayne County Sheriff Department (Deputy) where he retired from.
Funny you should mention. Much the same for me, but only as an observer two ranks back.
My basic company had just finished the last of several days in the field doing soldier stuff. We were near the end of the final long road march back to our barracks and graduation. The company was taking five along both sides of the road, about a mile left to go. Our drill sergeant (a Vietnam vet) ups and announces that 4th platoon will now double time the rest of the way back. We bitched and moaned, but were just salty enough to warm to the idea of leaving the other platoons in the dust.
We had one lad who tended to hyperventilate now and again. About half way back, he had an attack as we were running in formation. The guys on both sides held him up by his armpits. His helmet, M-16, and web gear all got passed to others. Somebody put a paper bag over his head. Within a minute or so, he said, “I’m Okay now”. Bag came off, and all his gear was passed back to him. We never missed a step. To this day, I have no idea where the bag came from. Ft. Ord, spring of 1974,
The madness may be ending. After seeing a tranny as an Admiral, I knew things were going downhill fast. That alone should have had Biden facing the charge of treason. Such things are not allowed in the military, and never should have happened.
All- Thanks for the comments, and you all make good points. Yes, even us old farts need to get in better shape…sigh
I noticed it took less than 24 hours for the “Anonymous Pentagon sources” to post gripes about “It could have been an e-mail.”
I suspect those are about to be anonymous former sources in the Pentagon.
Same comment I’ve made in other places. It warms my heart to see all those flag officers forced to take orders from a former enlisted man.
I listened to his whole speech, and I thought it was an appropriate sweeping out of garbage that desperately needed to be swept out.
And the rules of engagement part: Oh yeah, that needed to be addressed, and it was.
The bit about ladies serving: Yup, the standards should be (and now are) the standards. If you can’t meet those, then consider serving in another capacity; there is no dishonour in that.
I’m betting there was a lot more said than they let the MSM cover.
Good speech, if not the one I was hoping for, which would have gone something like this.
“Good morning. Half of you are now civilians. Check the tables in the back to see if you are still on active duty. And remember, the UCMJ applies to retired officers, and we will enforce it. Thank you”.