Pete Hegseth to 800 US generals: Shave your beards, lose the fat, and say hello to the 'War Department'

At a rare Quantico summit, Pete Hegseth rebrands Pentagon as “War Department,” vows “never again” to nation-building, and rolls out strict standards with Trump’s support.

It was no ordinary Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico. More than 800 US generals, admirals, and senior officers from posts as far-flung as Europe, the Middle East, and South Korea, were summoned at short notice for what turned out to be one of the most unusual military gatherings in decades.

For veterans of military bureaucracy, the scale was unheard of. NATO’s military chair, Italian admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, told Associated Press: “In my 49 years of service, I’ve never seen that before.”

The secrecy surrounding the event had stoked speculation for days. The reveal came when Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth took the podium: he wanted nothing less than to remake the Department of Defense's identity and culture.

“Welcome to the War Department”

Hegseth opened with a declaration that jolted the room: “Welcome to the War Department. The era of the Department of Defense is over.”

The line wasn’t a rhetorical flourish. It was a deliberate attempt to roll back a post-World War II legacy. Since 1947, when the Department of War was renamed the Department of Defense, Hegseth argued, the US has failed to win a major theater war.

He accused decades of Pentagon leadership of letting political correctness, diversity quotas, and 'toxic leaders' dilute combat effectiveness. His alternative: restore discipline, ruthlessness, and a singular focus on fighting and winning wars.

New directives: fitness, grooming, meritocracy

At the core of Hegseth’s message were new directives designed to reset military culture:

• Fitness: Combat positions will require one rigorous 'male-level' standard, with no exceptions.
• Grooming: Beards and relaxed shaving waivers are out. 'The era of unprofessional appearance is over.'
• Meritocracy: Promotions will be stripped of quotas tied to race or gender.
• Discipline: Crackdown on 'fat troops' and 'fat generals.' 'It’s a bad look,' Hegseth said bluntly.
• Oversight: Sweeping overhaul of the Pentagon’s inspector general, Equal Employment Opportunity office, and Military Equal
• Opportunity program to free commanders from what he called 'walking on eggshells.'
• “If you cannot meet the standards, it’s time for a new position, or a new profession,” Hegseth told the assembled brass.

Hegseth also pushed a strategic reset. He argued the U.S. military must abandon nation-building and endless counterinsurgency in favor of warfighting primacy.

“They said ‘never again’ to mission creep or nebulous end states,” he said, invoking battlefield veterans from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. “The same holds true today. Our leadership is chock-full of veterans who say ‘never again’ to nation-building and nebulous end states.”

He credited Ronald Reagan’s Cold War buildup and battlefield-tested leaders for the Gulf War victory in 1991 under George H.W. Bush. He now sees a similar moment, citing Trump’s military buildup and a “clear-eyed view all the way to the White House.”

“We embrace the War Department, and we must. We are preparing every day to win, not just to defend. Defense is inherently reactionary and can lead to overuse, overreach and mission creep.”

President Donald Trump joined the summit after Hegseth’s remarks, describing it as a morale-boosting exercise but lending clear political weight.