Keith Dickson
On October 6, 2025 Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth assembled the senior military leaders and senior enlisted advisors from across the US military at Quantico, Virginia to speak to them about his vision for the department and his expectations of US military personnel.
The Secretary had a good opening (with edits):
“Good morning and welcome to the War Department. . . . From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit. . . to be strong so that we can prevent war in the first place. . . . [W]e owe our republic a military that will win any war we choose or any war that is thrust upon us. . . .Our warfighters are entitled to be led by the best and most capable leaders.”
What followed, unfortunately, was a pep talk better delivered to Colonels and Captains, not Flag and General officers and Senior Enlisted Advisors, who were crammed cheek-to-jowl in a stuffy auditorium for nearly two hours. What they got was a message intended for the previous two Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs and the appointed DoD civilian leadership of the past eight years.
It’s doubtful that Hegseth’s remarks had much of an effect. The assembled senior military leaders have heard similar talks as they rose through the ranks throughout their careers. Most have even given very similar talks themselves. Everyone in the military—from private to general—knows how to react to such mandatory formations: listen quietly, maintain some level of interest and attention, and wait for the order to be dismissed.
After asserting that warfighters deserve the best and most capable leaders, Hegseth should have addressed the audience as strategic leaders and practitioners of the operational level of war. Here, in my assessment, is what Hegseth should have stated:
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