Overview

• Before roughly 800 generals and admirals, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered combat arms to meet the “highest male standard,” reinstated stricter grooming rules including a beard ban, and mandated twice‑yearly fitness and height‑weight tests for all ranks.
• Hegseth said he will end anonymous complaints and overhaul inspector general and equal opportunity processes while reviewing definitions of toxic leadership, bullying and hazing to give commanders more latitude.
• President Donald Trump told the officers the nation faces an “invasion from within,” praised recent domestic troop deployments, and said cities such as Chicago should serve as military “training grounds.”
• Both leaders issued ultimatums to dissenters, with Hegseth urging those whose “hearts sink” to resign and Trump warning that leaving the room would cost officers their rank and future.
• Attendees largely sat in silence as partisan reactions flared outside, with Democrats and many veterans citing legal and constitutional concerns over domestic use of forces and analysts questioning the risk of convening so much senior leadership in one place.