AP Photo/Kevin Wolf
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of the military’s highest-ranking leaders to gather next week at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, for what the Pentagon is billing as a lecture on “warrior ethos.”
According to reporting by The Washington Post, the summons, delivered with little notice, applies to every one-star general and admiral in command positions, along with their senior enlisted counterparts. Attendance, officials were told, is mandatory; exceptions will be rare and require sign-off from top brass. The meeting is set for September 30, the final day of the government’s fiscal year.
Pentagon officials have released few details about the event beyond confirming that Hegseth intends to address the assembled commanders. His team has framed it as the first in a series of short, themed talks: this one on “warrior ethos,” with future sessions on the defense industrial base and deterrence planned in the months ahead, multiple sources told the Post.
“It’s meant to be an eyeball-to-eyeball kind of conversation,” said one source, described as a “person familiar with ongoing discussions” in the Post article. “He wants to see the generals.”
The directive, however, has sparked unease across military circles. Staff officers scrambled to arrange last-minute travel, while some lawmakers questioned the costs and optics of pulling so many senior leaders away from their posts simultaneously — especially on the eve of a potential government shutdown.
Per the Post, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Army veteran, prepared a letter questioning the cost and potential security risks of pulling so many top commanders away from their posts on short notice. Her office began circulating the draft on Friday in hopes of securing additional Democratic signatures, while also pressing for a Pentagon briefing ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.
Also on Friday, Hegseth responded to a post on X from retired senior officer Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges comparing his planned address to Nazi-era political moves, writing, “Cool story, General.”
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The post The Reason Hegseth Summoned Hundreds of Generals to DC Is to Hear His Speech on ‘Warrior Ethos’: Report first appeared on Mediaite.
