By Martha McHardy,Shane Croucher

Copyright newsweek

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a rare meeting of the most senior military leadership in the U.S. that they must “prepare for war.”

“From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: Warfighting,” Hegseth said in his speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, referring to the name now used by the Trump administration for the Department of Defense.

“Preparing for war and preparing to win. Unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit. Not because we want war. No one here wants war. But it’s because we love peace,” he added.

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Defense for comment via email.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, September 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Picture: Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP)

Why It Matters

Hundreds of generals and admirals with one-star rank or higher, along with aides and senior staff, were called from all around the globe to attend the meeting in Quantico, Virginia, Tuesday, for an address by Hegseth and President Donald Trump.

The move comes just weeks after Trump signed an executive order, renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War—a title last used in 1947. Trump said the rebrand would send a message to America’s enemies and allies alike.

What To Know

Trump and Hegseth used the speech to declare an end to “woke” culture in the military and targeted other policies of past administrations. Hegseth told senior military leaders that he no longer wants to see “fat generals and admirals” or overweight troops in combat units.

“It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country, in the world, it’s a bad look,” Hegseth said.

Since taking office under Trump, Hegseth has made physical readiness central to his effort to restore what he calls the military’s “warrior ethos.” He has repeatedly highlighted the importance of new fitness requirements as part of that broader push.

The Defense Secretary pointed to his own regimen as an example. “It all starts with physical fitness and appearance,” he said. “If the Secretary of War can do regular, hard PT [physical training], so can every member of our joint force.”

“Today at my direction, every member of the joint force, at every rank, is required … [to] meet height and weight requirements twice a year every year,” Hegseth went on.

He added that the U.S. military would mandate troops in combat roles to meet “this highest male standard only,” requiring every service member in such positions to score above 70 percent on the “male standard” of their branch’s physical fitness test.

Experts have said that Hegseth’s emphasis on physical standards is part of a wider cultural trend. Author and masculinities scholar Jackson Katz observed that “a key goal of right-wing cultural populism is the reassertion of male power after several decades of feminist progress,” which has “posed a significant challenge to male centrality” and fueled “the current right-wing backlash.”

Katz linked this to Hegseth’s push for fitness, pointing out that while “women have been challenging men with unprecedented success in areas like education, the professions, business, and politics,” men “continue to have an advantage … in physical size and strength.” He explained that some men see physical strength as an area in which they still hold an edge: “Women might be competing with me… but they can’t do as many pushups as I can! In a one on one confrontation… I have an advantage… due to my greater upper body strength.”

According to Katz, “it’s in the self-interest of men who are threatened by women’s gains and strengths to emphasize an area — physical size and strength — in which men continue to hold an advantage.”

Hegseth also railed against what he described as “woke” in his department.

“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusion, no more debris. I’ve said before and will say again, we are done with that s***,” the Secretary of Defense said.

Hegseth said he would be overhauling the Pentagon’s Equal Opportunity program and Inspector General office, which recently reviewed his use of Signal for sensitive military discussions.

“We are overhauling an inspector general process — the IG that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues, and poor performers in the driver seat,” he told senior leaders at Quantico.

President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, September 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

On the Equal Opportunity program, Hegseth said: “No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complainants, no more smearing r…