Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of generals to Virginia next week to discuss grooming, standards and his “warrior ethos” vision — an unusual move that has sparked confusion among military leaders around the world.
The secretive meeting will serve as a kind of pep rally where Hegseth focuses on conduct and expectations for military leadership, according to three military officials and a Congressional aide familiar with the planning.
Almost every general and admiral in the U.S. military, including many from global commands, will need to show up on Tuesday at a military base in Quantico, Virginia. The unprecedented event will be one of the only times such an assembly of senior military leaders has been in the same space.
Hegseth wants to talk about how everyone “needs to row in the same direction” or face career consequences, said one of the military officials, who like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal planning.
The Washington Post first reported the meeting.
President Donald Trump on Thursday framed the event as a friendly meet-up, even as some defense officials viewed it as little more than a photo op.
The speech — in front of an audience of hundreds of generals and admirals — will be filmed and possibly aired at a later date, according to another one of officials.
Hegseth has taken a hands-on approach to personnel issues, making grooming standards and physical fitness a core part of his tenure. The secretary has also focused on what he calls the new “warrior ethos,” which embodies harder training and a more aggressive military.
He will focus on these elements in his speech, said the officials, and outline a new vision for national security under the Trump administration that includes more emphasis on homeland security and the Western Hemisphere over far-flung conflicts.
POLITICO has reported that the Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy — a draft of which is on Hegseth’s desk — will shift some of the military’s focus from deterring China to the United States. An upcoming posture review will likely call for troop reductions in Europe and elsewhere.
The visuals alone could mark a major moment in his stewardship of the military. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has spent time and energy crafting his public persona. He has hired public affairs officials at the Pentagon to film him working out with troops, meeting foreign counterparts, and releasing short videos explaining his decisions.
Such made-for-tv moments have been a hallmark of his tenure, even as his reputation has suffered due to scandals ranging from firing his top aides to sharing sensitive information about military strikes in a Signal chat that accidentally included a journalist.
The Signal controversy is the subject of a Defense Department Inspector General report that has not yet been released.
The first person said their command was not “overly concerned” about the meeting and viewed it more as a motivational speech.
Joe Gould contributed to this report.
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