Defense secretary announces new Pentagon policy changes, tells disagreeing officials to resign

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced sweeping policy changes Tuesday aimed at eliminating what he called “woke garbage” from the U.S. military, with physical fitness standards taking center stage. Speaking to hundreds of generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, alongside President Trump, Mr. Hegseth mandated that all service members, including top-ranking officers, must meet weight requirements and pass physical fitness tests twice annually.

The defense secretary bluntly criticized the appearance of military personnel, stating it was “tiring” to see “fat troops” in formations and “completely unacceptable” to see overweight generals and admirals in Pentagon halls and commanding positions worldwide. Effective immediately, each service branch must return combat requirements to the “highest male standard only” and implement rigorous, gender-neutral fitness metrics. Mr. Hegseth ordered daily physical training for all troops, explicitly excluding activities like “hot yoga or stretching,” and announced new combat field tests.

Beyond fitness, Mr. Hegseth outlined broader cultural reforms targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 

“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses,” he declared, also condemning “climate change worship.” 

He directed military services to review definitions of terms like “bullying,” “hazing,” and “toxic” leadership, which he claimed had been weaponized to remove qualified personnel for political reasons.

The Pentagon chief ordered overhauls to the inspector general’s office and equal opportunity processes, alleging they enabled “frivolous complaints” that hindered warfighting readiness. He told anyone disagreeing with his approach to “do the honorable thing and resign,” later adding that those whose “hearts sink” at his words should leave. The changes aim to “liberate” commanders to be “apolitical, hard-charging, no-nonsense constitutional” leaders.

President Trump expanded his vision for domestic military deployment, suggesting dangerous American cities serve as training grounds for troops. He referenced existing deployments of active-duty personnel to Los Angeles and National Guard troops to other cities, framing them as training opportunities.

Mr. Hegseth acknowledged the new standards might result in many women leaving the military, calling such losses acceptable if they cannot meet the highest standards. 

“If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” he said, accepting that some combat roles might have zero female qualifiers.

Sen. Jack Reed, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, condemned the announcements as “a dangerous assault on our democracy,” criticizing Mr. Hegseth’s resignation ultimatum as prioritizing “partisan loyalty” over constitutional service and professional nonpartisanship.

Read more: Hegseth slams ’fat generals and admirals’ and racial quotas, announces new fitness standards