US Defence Secretary Pete Hagseth said the US military must correct “a decade of decline”, addressing a rare gathering of hundreds of senior officers who had been invited from around the world to hear him speak near Washington.
“Foolish and reckless political leaders have set the wrong compass course and we have lost our way. We became the woke department. But not anymore,” he said.
Hagseth said during his nearly hour-long speech that the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons, based on race, gender quotas and “historical precedence.”
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive leadership that doesn’t touch anyone’s feelings is ending right now at every level,” he said.
In early September, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the US Department of Defence as the Department of War. Defence Secretary Pete Hagseth and his team will be able to use the titles “Secretary of War” and “Under Secretary of War”. Hagseth said the renaming is “not just words, but military ethics.”