Overview

• After the Quantico convocation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo ordering twice‑yearly fitness tests for active-duty troops, annual tests for Guard and reserve, forthcoming waist standards within 60 days, and penalties up to dismissal for failing to meet body-composition limits.
• A separate directive requires clean‑shaven faces with only closely trimmed mustaches allowed, justified by the need for proper sealing of protective masks during hazardous missions.
• President Trump told the assembled officers the nation faces an “internal war,” said he signed a decree creating a rapid‑response force for civilian disturbances, and suggested using so‑called dangerous cities as military training grounds.
• Hegseth urged dissenting leaders to resign, vowed gender‑neutral but stricter physical standards for combat roles that could exclude those who do not meet them, and announced looser rules of engagement to maximize lethality.
• The administration has moved to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War,” a step reported as requiring congressional approval, while the unprecedented gathering of roughly 800 commanders drew criticism over cost from reservists interviewed by U.S. media.