Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned roughly 800 generals and admirals to Quantico and cast the Pentagon as a revived “War Department” centered on lethality.
• Hegseth announced directives restoring the highest male fitness standard for combat arms, banning beards, requiring twice‑yearly fitness tests, curbing anonymous complaints, and ordering changes to inspector general and equal opportunity processes.
• President Donald Trump described an “invasion from within” and said he wants to use cities such as Chicago and Portland as military “training grounds,” signaling expanded domestic deployment ambitions.
• The assembled senior officers offered little reaction throughout the televised event, as many veterans and Democratic lawmakers condemned the rhetoric as politicizing the force while some conservative figures praised the shift.
• The hastily arranged in‑person recall from worldwide posts drew criticism over cost, readiness risks, and the legality of using troops for domestic law enforcement, which faces established constraints.