The secretary of war called a gathering of U.S. generals, admirals, and senior enlisted troops to Marine Corps Base Quantico.
QUANTICO—President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Sept. 30 addressed a gathering of hundreds of generals, admirals, and senior enlisted troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, to outline their efforts to reshape the military and reform its policies.
During his remarks, Trump highlighted improved recruiting and retention figures, increased defense spending, and plans to develop new weapons systems and capabilities, including the F-47 stealth fighter and an overhauled missile defense network.
“We’re investing tens of billions of dollars in modernizing our nuclear deterrence capabilities like never before, and we’ve begun construction on what we call the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense shield. It would be the most sophisticated in the world,” Trump said.
Trump also announced that the U.S. Navy intends to build 19 new warships in the coming year.
Trump touted his administration’s use of troop mobilizations to guard federal facilities in Los Angeles and to assist in addressing crime in Washington. He also discussed plans for additional deployments in cities such as Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon.
“It’s really a very important mission. And I told [Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, because we’re going into Chicago very soon,” the president said.
The Quantico meeting is part of a broader trend of cultural, policy, and leadership changes across the military. The administration recently rebranded the Department of Defense as the Department of War.
“In the coming months, we’ll be making even more historic announcements to fully embrace the identity of the Department of War,” Trump said. “I love the name. I think it’s so great. I think it stops the wars. The Department of War is going to stop the wars.”
The president’s remarks followed an address in which Hegseth emphasized a shift in military culture that eschews falling fitness and grooming standards, and so-called “woke” cultural agendas.
“The new War Department golden rule is this: Do unto your unit, as you would have done unto your own child’s unit,” Hegseth told the military leaders.
“Would you want him serving with fat or unfit or under-trained troops, or alongside people who can’t meet basic standards, or in a unit where standards were lowered so certain types of troops could make it in, in a unit where leaders were promoted for reasons other than merit, performance, and war-fighting? The answer is not just no, it’s hell no.”
By Ryan Morgan
