‘Go War Go’?!
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mystery meeting with hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals next week is expected to mirror a “pep rally,” a new report reveals.
Hegseth has reportedly ordered all of the U.S. military’s top leaders to meet in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday. He did not provide any details, but CNN reports the event is expected to resemble a “pep rally” where Hegseth will discuss the “warrior ethos” and President Donald Trump’s recent order rebranding the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”
“It’s meant to be a show of force of what the new military now looks like under the president,” a White House official told CNN.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month on the Defense Department’s rebrand, noting that the agency was originally called the Department of War when it was established in 1789. The White House said the title will be used as a “secondary name” for the agency. An official name change would require an act of Congress, NPR reports.
Hegseth is also set to explain new fitness, grooming and readiness standards at the meeting, according to CNN.
When asked about these emerging details, the Pentagon directed The Independent to spokesperson Sean Parnell’s statement from earlier this week.
“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” Parnell said.
Hegseth’s order, which was first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday, came as a surprise. Military sources told the Post they can’t recall a defense secretary ever ordering such a large gathering of military leaders in this way. The meeting is also raising security concerns, the outlet’s sources said.
“People are very concerned,” one source told the Post. “They have no idea what it means.”
Two sources told the outlet they’re concerned about the fact that commanders stationed overseas have been ordered to attend.
“You don’t call GOFOs leading their people and the global force into an auditorium outside D.C. and not tell them why/what the topic or agenda is,” one source told the Post, using an acronym that refers to general officers or flag officers in the military.
Hegseth seemed to address concerns about the meeting for the first time on Friday, when he responded to a post on X from retired officer Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges.
Hodges wrote: “July 1935 German generals were called to a surprise assembly in Berlin and informed that their previous oath to the Weimar constitution was void and that they would be required to swear a personal oath to the Führer. Most generals took the new oath to keep their positions.”
“Cool story, General,” Hegseth responded.
This meeting comes after Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star generals and admirals in May. He argued that “more generals and admirals does not equal more success,” in a video posted to X shortly afterward.
“This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers; nothing could be further from the truth,” Hegseth said.
