By Reuters

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth assailed what he called “decades of decay” caused by policies promoting diversity and inclusion in the US military at an unprecedented gathering of military leaders near Washington on Tuesday.
“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading, and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department’,” Hegseth said as he kicked off the event in Quantico, Virginia.
“But not any more,” he said.
Hegseth said the US military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts”.
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said.
Addressing the room full of America’s top generals and admirals, summoned from around the world without explanation last week, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, which included the top US general, who was black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who was a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.
He promised sweeping changes to how discrimination complaints are handled and how accusations of wrongdoing are investigated at the Pentagon, saying the current system has top brass walking on “egg shells”.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honourable thing and resign,” Hegseth said.
“I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”

Trump says of commanders, ‘we love them’
US President Donald Trump will speak at the event later on Tuesday. Trump has said he will use the face-to-face meeting with the US military’s top commanders at the Marine Corps University in Quantico to tell them “we love them”.
The auditorium was filled with senior uniformed officials, seated in front of a stage with a large American flag, a lectern and boards that read: “Strength Service America.”
Hegseth criticised the look of overweight troops, saying: “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
He said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks only and emphasised the importance of grooming standards.
“The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.
As he departed for the event, Trump told reporters that he would be meeting military leaders and would fire them on the spot if he did not like them.
Revamp of defence priorities?
The Pentagon has undergone eight months of blistering changes since Trump took office, including firings, banning books from academy libraries and ordering lethal strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela.
That has led to speculation, both within the US military and in the broader American public, that the gathering could go far beyond the morale-boosting exercise described by Trump to include discussions about reductions in senior officers’ ranks and a revamp of US defence priorities.
“It’s anyone’s guess” what will ultimately be discussed, said one US official, speaking on condition of anonymity about the agenda of the gathering.
Military leaders attending the gathering will be under public scrutiny for any reaction to overtly political comments made by Trump, who has often dragged the military into political issues.

Military meant to be apolitical
The US military is meant to be apolitical, loyal to the US Constitution and independent of any party or political movement.
The administration has announced a plan to send National Guard deployments to Chicago, the latest US city where Trump aims to deploy US troops despite objections from local authorities.
He announced plans to send National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, over the weekend and sent Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles earlier this year, despite protests from local officials. Speaking on Sunday, Trump described the Quantico meeting as an “esprit de corps”.
“I want to tell the generals that we love them, they’re cherished leaders, to be strong, be tough and be smart and be compassionate,” Trump said in an interview.
Trump’s attendance is likely to overshadow Hegseth, who summoned the commanders from around the world, including those based in distant locations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
In almost every public speech he gives, Hegseth talked about the “warrior ethos” and the need for the US military to have a warrior mentality. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defence the “Department of War,” reverting to a title it held until after World War II when officials sought to emphasise the Pentagon’s role in preventing conflict.
Hegseth, a former Fox News television host, has moved with stunning speed to reshape and rebrand the department as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.
Additional reporting by Associated Press