Overview
- At Naval Station Norfolk for the Navy’s 250th anniversary, Pete Hegseth reiterated the Pentagon’s rebranding as the “Department of War,” emphasized “peace through strength,” and attacked DEI initiatives.
- In a locker-room speech after Navy’s win over Air Force, Hegseth referenced his Quantico address, repeated “no more beardos,” and urged Midshipmen to “fight like hell,” in a video posted by Pentagon aide Tami Radabaugh.
- Days earlier at a televised gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals at Quantico, President Trump proposed using American cities as military “training grounds” and described a domestic “war from within.”
- The White House announced security deployments tied to the new posture, including National Guard support at federal facilities in Portland and a marine unit relocation to Chicago, alongside a legal claim that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with the drug trade.
- Critics, including retired Maj. Gen. Randy E. Manner, said the Quantico event politicized the force, as reporting noted Hegseth’s latest personnel move firing Navy chief of staff Jon Harrison and highlighted a broader pattern of high-level dismissals.