Tuesday, September 30, 2025

FULL SPEECH: Pete Hegseth Rails against the 'Woke,' Lays Out Standards to Top Generals, Admirals

Sep 30, 2025 | In a speech Tuesday morning before an auditorium packed with several hundred of the nation's most seasoned military commanders, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for an end to "woke" culture in the military and railed against a litany of complaints such as diversity and probes into hazing.

Hegseth called for "no more division, distraction or gender delusions" in an extraordinarily blunt speech on the importance of the "warrior ethos," a term he uses to describe the spirit that makes combat units effective.

Note: There is some profanity in the language.