Bernd Debusmann JrVirginia and
James FitzGerald
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will require combatants to meet the “highest male standard” in physical fitness tests, acknowledging that the move may exclude some women from serving.
“Standards must be uniform, gender neutral, and high,” Hegseth told military top brass in an unusual address at a base near Washington DC.
Before a crowd of hundreds of military leaders, the defence secretary outlined his visions for cultural shift at the Pentagon and a greater “warrior ethos”. He was echoed by US President Donald Trump, who spoke afterwards.
Generals and admirals stationed around the world listened silently to the two men’s remarks.
Security was extremely tight for the summit at Marine Corps Base Quantico, a sprawling 55,000-acre facility in Virginia. The summit represented a rare gathering of so many senior personnel in one place.
No official reason was publicly provided when the generals were summoned at short notice last week, prompting a flurry of speculation around what Trump and Hegseth would say.
Hegseth’s speech focused on the culture of the US military, training, leadership, and “fixing decades of decay”, including DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programmes, and the promotion of a “risk-averse” officer corps.
He said those officers had been unnerved by “climate change distractions”, “woke garbage” and fears of being labelled as “toxic” leaders.
As well as announcing changes to fitness standards, Hegseth vowed an end to the “era of unprofessional appearances” – including beard exemptions – and to anonymous complaints procedures, as part of wider departmental changes.
He also addressed his previous firing of senior commanders, saying that he went with “his gut” and rid the military of those he believed would not shift away from policies set in previous administrations.
“More leadership changes will be made, I’m certain,” he said.
There was very little visible or audible reaction from the assembled generals and senior enlisted personnel in the audience, which was mostly silent except for the sound of hundreds of boots snapping to attention as he took the stage and stepped off. Many took notes in some military field notebooks as Hegseth spoke.
Trump took the stage afterwards, joking: “I’ve never walked into a room so silent before.”
He went on to remark: “Together, we’re reawakening the warrior spirit. And this is a spirit that won and built this nation.”
In a wide-ranging address, the US president went on to tout the achievements of the American military – and his own second presidency.
He remarked that he had “settled” seven wars, and hoped for an eighth – if Hamas accepted the proposal for Gaza that he had put forward with Israel.
Ahead of the event, US Vice-President JD Vance had accused the media of turning the meeting into a “big story”, stressing that it was “not particularly unusual” for Hegseth’s generals to meet him in person.
Some observers disagreed. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian admiral who serves as the chair of the Nato Military Committee, was quoted by the AP news agency as saying: “As far as my 49 years of service, I’ve never seen that before.”
Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank told Reuters: “It is mystifying why this was not done virtually so that senior officers don’t have to spend a lot of time travelling.”
Explaining the purpose of the meeting in advance, Trump told NBC News it would be an exercise in generating some “esprit de corps” – suggesting that he saw an opportunity to galvanise his troops.
The attendees reportedly included officers drawn from military installations as far as Europe, South Korea and the Middle East.
Many of them arrived hours before the event, and were seated in the auditorium according to their branch of service – Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force, easily distinguishable by uniforms.
Some wore campaign medals showing they had served in Afghanistan, Iraq or the American wider war on terror that was launched following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
