Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is going to extreme lengths to make sure every member of the military listens to what he says.
That includes the lengthy speech he made late last month that was basically a diatribe against “fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon” and “dudes in dresses.”
Hegseth directed U.S. military leaders to make sure every member of the DOD watches the speech he made on Sept. 30 in Quantico, Virginia, and reviews the policy changes, according to a memo reviewed by CNN.
In the memo dated Oct. 6, Hegseth declared: “Leaders at every level will ensure all personnel will either watch the full recording or read the official transcript of the speech, and review the policy changes no later than 31 October 2025.”
Hegseth also wrote, using the department name preferred by the Trump administration, that leaders “must inculcate our cultural shift and ensure every member of the Department of War understands my guidance.”
A Pentagon spokesperson told CNN that “the Secretary’s speech was for the whole force and this memo just reinforces that guidance.”
But some of the department’s employees aren’t happy about the order.
One employee told Zeteo, “We have other things we need to work on. When they told us we were required to watch the Hegseth speech, I did not realize they were going to throw this kind of manpower at enforcing the mandatory viewing of a Trump rally.”
Another member of the military, an enlisted person serving on active duty as an airman, told the Advocate that the directive “feels like propaganda being forced down our throats.”
Hegseth’s directive comes, in part, because the original speech was heavily criticized by many former military personnel, including former Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who found the gathering “somewhat shocking” and “filled with mistruths.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran, also had harsh words for Hegseth after the speech, calling him “the least qualified secretary of defense in our nation’s history.”