<p>QUANTICO — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth looked into the eyes of hundreds of his top military leaders on Tuesday as he shared his new directives for the War Department — including the news that every military branch will ensure that requirements for combat positions return to &#8220;the highest male standard.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This job is life or death,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;Standards must be met &#8230; it&#8217;s common sense and core to who we are and what we do.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Secretary of War addressed a room filled with United States military leaders from around the world, while legacy media outlets fretted over the &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; gathering.</p>
<p>Hegseth&#8217;s remarks came shortly before the President of the United States arrived at the heavily guarded Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. Trump&#8217;s arrival and remarks stood out as a strong show of support for the War Department&#8217;s changes, and both men conveyed a similar message to the assembled military brass: the Department of War&#8217;s mission is combat — &#8220;preparing for war and preparing to win.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We must be so strong that no nation will dare challenge us, so powerful that no enemy will dare threaten us, and so capable that no adversary can even think about beating us,&#8221; the president said Tuesday.</p>
<p>The Secretary of War was very clear as he spoke to the assembled military brass, striding up and down the stage in front of a massive American flag rather than standing behind the podium. The Daily Wire observed many of these U.S. military leaders taking notes during both Trump&#8217;s and Hegseth&#8217;s remarks.</p>
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<p>No longer will the War Department tolerate ideological standards or quotas or punish leaders for supposed &#8220;toxic&#8221; attitudes, Hegseth said. No more &#8220;identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses,&#8221; nor will it tolerate leadership that is not aligned with the War Department&#8217;s mission, he noted, pointing out to those present that he had fired some military leaders.</p>
<p>The ideology and lowered standards implemented during President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration are over, both Trump and Hegseth said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re done with that shit,&#8221; Hegseth said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now we’re back,&#8221; promised Trump. &#8220;That’s it. We’re not gonna have any of that crap happen, I can tell you.”</p>
<div id="attachment_978615" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-are-done-with-that-sht-trump-hegseth-demand-excellence-from-military-brass/president-trump-and-pete-hegseth-address-u-s-senior-military-leaders-at-quantico-2" rel="attachment wp-att-978615"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-978615" class="wp-image-978615 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238296560-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238296560-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238296560-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238296560-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238296560.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-978615" class="wp-caption-text">U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30, 2025, in Quantico, Virginia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</p></div>
<p>Hegseth repeatedly mentioned his concerns about lowered standards in the United States military, particularly when it comes to fitness and grooming, sharing that at his direction on Tuesday, every member of the Joint Force at every rank will be required to take a biannual PT test and to meet height and weight requirements for &#8220;every year of service.&#8221;</p>
<p>He even went so far as to call out leadership themselves on this issue: &#8220;It&#8217;s unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon, and leading all around the world. It&#8217;s a bad look, and it&#8217;s not who we are!&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The best way to take care of troops is to give them good leaders committed to the war-fighting culture of the department,&#8221; he argued. &#8220;Not perfect leaders, but good leaders. Competent, qualified, professional, agile, aggressive, innovative, risk-taking, apolitical, faithful to their oath and the Constitution.&#8221;</p>
<p>He specifically noted that the fitness changes are not being made in order to weed women out of the armed forces.</p>
<p>“If women can make it, excellent,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If not, it is what it is&#8230;It will also mean that weak men won&#8217;t qualify, because we&#8217;re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”</p>
<div id="attachment_978631" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-are-done-with-that-sht-trump-hegseth-demand-excellence-from-military-brass/president-trump-and-pete-hegseth-address-u-s-senior-military-leaders-at-quantico-4" rel="attachment wp-att-978631"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-978631" class="wp-image-978631 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238302943-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238302943-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238302943-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238302943-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2238302943.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-978631" class="wp-caption-text">U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30, 2025, in Quantico, Virginia.  (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</p></div>
<p>The War Secretary told the military brass: “If the words I’m saying today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.&#8221; But he suggested that many of them might be very enthused, very excited about the changes, eager to steer the Department of War back towards its original mission.</p>
<p>Both Trump and Hegseth were emphatic in their praise of the United States military and their hopes for the future. Trump told the gathered U.S. military leaders that the United States has &#8220;the greatest and most elite fighting force in the history of the world,&#8221; and he repeatedly touted the prowess and prestige of the military brass before him.</p>
<p>&#8220;In this effort, we&#8217;re a team and so my message to you today is simple: I am with you, I support you and, as president, I have your backs 100%,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;You&#8217;ll never see me waver a little bit&#8230; We are going to make our military stronger, tougher, faster, fiercer, and more powerful than it has ever been before.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;There could be no higher honor than to serve as your Commander-in-Chief,&#8221; Trump promised. &#8220;To each and every one of you, I thank you for your unwavering devotion to the Armed Forces and the country we&#8217;ve all sworn a sacred oath to defend.&#8221;</p>

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‘We Are Done With That Sh*t’: Trump, Hegseth Demand Excellence From Military Brass