Macho man Pete Hegseth turns ‘State of the Force’ address into a spectacle of slurs and self-congratulation

“High T” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth returned to Quantico on Wednesday with a 52-minute declaration of military strength that, for long stretches, sounded like a catalog of performative personal and political grievances. Transgender people, journalists, universities, diversity programs, and dismissed generals all became targets in a speech heavy on culture war buzzwords and performative toughness.

He promised merit. He invoked the “warrior ethos.” He used an anti-transgender slur. And when he topped off his description of a transformed military with a boast about testosterone testing, the performance hit an awkward silence.

“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department,” Hegseth said. “Simple translation of that. No fatties, no tr***ies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals, just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops.”

Moments later, he continued: “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top.”

He paused. Nobody clapped. Against the buildup, the silence was deafening.

“Diversity is not our strength,” he continued. “Unity is our strength.”

Related: Pete Hegseth mandates that all military service members watch his fratty Virginia speech to generals

A return engagement at Quantico

The “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia came exactly one year after Hegseth’s first major address there, when senior military leaders were ordered to attend a gathering featuring him and President Donald Trump. Generals and admirals summoned from around the world heard demands to remake military culture, with the audience remaining largely silent.

Wednesday’s audience consisted of junior officers and enlisted leaders. Hegseth said he intended the address to become an annual tradition, allowing the secretary to report on the department and outline its direction.

He opened by revisiting the previous gathering and suggesting that commanders who resisted his agenda had paid with their jobs.

“Those generals who did not, who clung to the woke department or seemed to think civilian control of the military is simply a suggestion, well, they no longer work here,” he proclaimed.

Hegseth said the department had fired 10 percent of its generals and admirals and separately reduced senior officer positions. He presented those changes as accountability and evidence of a successful cultural overhaul.

The grievance list soon expanded.

“No more silly PowerPoint trainings or drag queen shows,” he said. “No more diversity quotas, no more gender pronouns, no more identity months, only the warrior ethos.”

He described the department as “colorblind, gender neutral, and merit based,” then invoked Trump’s preference for “central casting.”

Related: Pete Hegseth is a waste of time, and Trump is a disgraceful “Sleepy Don” at meeting for military leaders

A testosterone boast with consequences

For transgender troops, Hegseth’s rhetoric accompanies an administration effort to end their military careers.

As The Advocate previously reported, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court in August to overturn protections for service members challenging its transgender military ban. The government argues that the policy concerns gender dysphoria and medical treatment. Lower courts have questioned that explanation and found the plaintiffs likely to succeed in challenging the exclusions.

The testosterone program Hegseth celebrated has drawn scrutiny in that litigation.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the parties to address why testosterone treatment was being promoted for some troops while ongoing medical care was cited as a reason to exclude transgender service members. Her questions included comparisons of treatment costs, monitoring, and logistical requirements.

Related: If this gay paratrooper could speak directly to Pete Hegseth, this is what he’d say

Policy announcements amid political attacks

The address included plans for an autonomous warfare command, a new domestic military base, and an Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to the secretary.

But Hegseth repeatedly returned to perceived ideological enemies. He disparaged universities as “anti-American DEI worshiping woke factories” and accused journalists covering the war with Iran of undermining troops.

“A free press is of course important,” the former Fox News weekend anchor who banned the Pentagon press corps from the building before a judge restored access, said, as he described what he called partisan activism against troops and their mission as “fundamentally anti-American.”

“It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason, actually,” the defense secretary declared. Treason is a crime that is punishable by death. Journalism is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

By the closing minutes, Hegseth had connected military readiness to religious faith, declaring that “the real battle is spiritual.”