Overview

• At a Sept. 30 summit at Quantico, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told top brass to resign if they disagreed with his push to restore a “warrior ethos,” outlining changes that include tighter rules of engagement, curbs on inspector general and whistleblower functions, limits on beard waivers, new hazing policies, and allowing drill sergeants to put hands on recruits.
• Two senior commanders, Gen. Thomas Bussiere and Gen. Bryan Fenton, announced retirements around the event, with Bussiere citing personal and family reasons and a Hegseth adviser saying Fenton’s plans predated the speech, as experts described rising anxiety and potential retention risks across senior ranks.
• Hegseth said firings would continue and announced the removal of Navy Secretary’s chief of staff Jon Harrison, following earlier ousters of Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse at DIA and Rear Adm. Milton Sands at Naval Special Warfare Command.
• President Trump followed Hegseth at Quantico by calling for confronting an “enemy within” and using inner cities as training grounds, comments that analysts and legal experts say raise Posse Comitatus concerns, with Salon reporting he discussed weighing Insurrection Act options if courts blocked National Guard deployments.
• Salon highlighted a heavily militarized ICE raid in Chicago featuring helicopters, drones, and armored vehicles promoted in a DHS video, with local reporting from Block Club Chicago describing residents detained with zip ties, which critics cite as evidence of a broader shift toward domestic militarized operations.