War Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a blunt message to military leaders from around the globe this week: get fit, get on board with the Trump agenda or get out.
It marked the first time generals from around the world had been summoned to convene with the secretary, and many had expected closed-door announcements on trimming the general officer corps, drawing down forces in the Middle East and Europe or cutting civilian and contractor roles.
Instead, what they got was a televised address from Hegseth and President Donald Trump. The secretary pushed a populist message of handing decision-making back to the warfighter, requiring senior leadership to perform physical training in line with lower-ranking officers and bringing uniformity back to the force.
Garrett Smith, an active-duty Marine Corps reservist and CEO of defense tech firm Reveal, said the spectacle was unusual but not without precedent.
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"At a first level, at any big multinational corporation or big organization, when there's a new boss, it's totally reasonable to call in all your regional managers and VPs for a setting of tone, to reconfirm the agenda, to ensure alignment. So all of that makes sense," Smith said. "But obviously, these are not normal times. This is the Trump administration. So it's going to come with a bunch of enhanced drama and mystique and weirdness about it… the policy and the action might have been totally great, but much of the country is going to be left wondering, what was that really about?"
Even so, Smith argued, the underlying message was unmistakable: "A return to warfighting and preparation for winning wars as the priority mission of the department. There was a perception we'd strayed from that, that it had become just one mission among many. Reconfirming that this is the mission is really important - investing in a warfighting ethos."
At a moment when the Trump administration is on alert for internal resistance to its agenda, the speech served as a reminder to commanders stationed far from Washington that their authority ultimately flows from the president.
"This is a historic come-to-Jesus meeting," said Chad Robicheaux, a former reconnaissance Marine who deployed to Afghanistan eight times. "The message is clear: the days of divisiveness, resistance, and undermining leadership are over."
"It was crystal clear - generals and admirals are on notice: comply and enforce these new policies and culture or be fired. No more woke leaders," said Amber Smith, a combat veteran and advisor with the Coalition for Military Excellence.
"The topic today is about the nature of ourselves, because no plan, no program, no reform, no formation will ultimately succeed unless we have the right people and the right culture at the Department of War," Hegseth told the group.
He emphasized that combat fitness tests would be gender-neutral and that high-level officers would need to meet standards.
"It's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It's a bad look. It's not who we are," he said. "Whether you're an airborne Ranger or a chairborne Ranger, a brand new private or a four-star general, you need to meet the height and weight standards and pass your PT test."
Hegseth announced that all personnel must pass physical training tests and meet weight requirements twice a year, and would be required to work out daily. "We're not talking, like, hot yoga and stretching," he said. "Real hard PT."
That represented a departure from previous years, when fitness standards often fell away once officers reached higher ranks and desk-bound commands.
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Smith, who comes from the infantry, said the focus on standards for physical readiness was part of that shift. "If we want to present a deterring force to the world so we don't have to go to war, we have to be ready to win the next war. That is the deterrent force we project," he said.
At the same time, Smith acknowledged the cultural edge of Hegseth's message. "There was an obvious and very clear anti-woke, anti-social-justice threat in there. That is unique to this administration, and it has to be a part of their message every time. That's not a surprise given the last four or five years."
From Trump, generals saw a preview of what is expected in the forthcoming national defense strategy: a renewed focus on homeland defense and U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Trump suggested crime-ridden U.S. cities could even serve as "training grounds" for troops.
"I told Pete we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military - National Guard, but military - because we're going into Chicago very soon," Trump said.
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Hegseth's message carried a personal edge rooted in his own military experience. A former Army National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth left the service at the rank of major - well short of the general officer tier he now oversees.
That trajectory has long colored his outsider posture toward the Pentagon brass, giving him credibility with rank-and-file troops but also fueling what some see as a chip-on-the-shoulder tone toward those who climbed higher in the hierarchy.
His insistence that generals shed weight, train daily and live by the same standards as junior officers reflects both his populist instincts and his lived sense of being closer to the warfighter than the war planner.
"I can't really imagine a scenario where a general needs to be able to run across a battlefield," one veteran mused.
"It felt a bit theatery," one junior officer said of the speech. "But he's right that generals should have to meet the same standards they expect of the people they lead."
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"The future of the military and 'war' department finally is starting to look better, and I'm happy all that bulls--- that happened in the past was addressed, and I don't have to deal with it," said another.
Hegseth also said he would lift guardrails aimed at preventing bullying and hazing and "empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing."
"No more walking on eggshells."
He told military officers in the room that if they didn't like his message, "then you should do the honorable thing and resign."
