Headline Roundup • October 1st, 2026
Hegseth Describes Culture Shift, New Military Projects in 'State of the Force' Speech
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a "State of the Force" speech to military members at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday, focusing largely on the cultural shifts President Donald Trump's administration has aimed to achieve.
New Goals in the Military: Hegseth introduced Project Meridian, a project led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey that will research the future of warfare. He also announced an effort to make every US base independent from national power grids to protect them from sabotage or cyberattacks; an office called the Autonomous Warfare Command to lead the purchasing of new autonomous drones and robotics; and an Office of Religious Affairs to ensure budgets for religious infrastructure, like chapels.
Culture Shifts in the Military: Unlike last year's speech, in which Hegseth addressed high-ranking members like admirals and generals, his audience Wednesday comprised lower-ranking officers and enlisted leaders. Hegseth repeated a version of his refrain from his 2025 speech, saying the military would have "no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors." He went on to say that "the ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top."
How the Media Covered It: Left outlets more than outlets on the right or in the center highlighted Hegseth's refrain about overweight or transgender military members, with NPR (Lean Left bias) quoting it in the second paragraph. It also touched on criticism Hegseth has received for his methods of reducing the flag-officer corps, reporting that "many of the notable firings were of Black or female officers, let go without explanation despite excellent service records." Daily Wire (Right) wrote that Hegseth "declared that the military has officially abandoned woke policies." Daily Wire wrote that Hegseth was "taking a victory lap on standardizing physical fitness tests and stripping away identity-based initiatives" when he "fired off" his refrain. Wall Street Journal (Center) reported that those in attendance received a compilation of Hegseth's past speeches bound in a book called "The War Department Field Manual," which also contained a forward from Trump.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a fiery "State of the Force" address at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Wednesday, dropping six major bombshells designed to overhaul the military from top to bottom.
Speaking directly to junior officers and non-commissioned officers, whom he called the "backbone of our force," Hegseth declared that the military has officially abandoned woke policies to focus strictly on warfighting, readiness, and total lethality.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a "State of the Force" speech Wednesday to hundreds of officers and enlisted servicemembers at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., one year after he used the same venue to call for "no more beardos" or "fat generals."
While last year Hegseth spoke to more than 800 admirals and generals, this time his audience was made up of lower-ranking officers and enlisted personnel who gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the stage.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
At a gathering at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told hundreds of junior military officers and enlisted leaders that the Trump administration has achieved a cultural shift in the military.
"No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors," Hegseth said on Wednesday. "The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top."
