New details emerge on Hegseth's unusual mass gathering of top brass

[highplainsdem]

Source: Washington Post

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals to travel on short notice from around the world to hear him make a short speech on military standards and the “warrior ethos,” multiple people familiar with the event told The Washington Post.

Hegseth’s orders, which were sent earlier this week to senior generals and admirals worldwide, require anyone in a command position with the rank of one-star general or rear admiral and above, as well as their senior enlisted leaders, to be at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday.

Exceptions will be granted on a rare basis with approval from top military officials, the people familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning.

-snip-

The timing of the event has been of particular concern: The speech is set for Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year. If there is a government shutdown, it could leave key staff stranded in Virginia as military commands across the globe are juggling the security implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza and the continued threat to U.S. personnel in the Middle East, where the Houthis and other Iranian-backed militias continue to fire missiles and drones at U.S. interests.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/26/hegseth-generals-meeting-warrior-speech/

---

According to the article, Hegseth posted a sarcastic "Cool story, General" response after a retired lieutenant general tweeted about German generals being required to swear a personal oath to Hitler in 1935.

Hegseth will reportedly give two more short lectures this year, one on the defense industrial base and the third, on deterrence, in California in December.

[NCDem47]

1. The fact that this man demands respect and authority is appalling.

[mpcamb]

19. I think it was a test. -Who will knuckle under and who won't?- So you better show up...

His masters might have figured that angle out ... He's to goddam dumb to, but it's it's a very plausible explanation and
a way of figuring out what fecal matter sinks and what floats and what you can get away with for a daily news cycle.

(apologies for the scatological reference, but, - hey, cmon, who are we dealing with?)

[Roy Rolling]

40. The Answer Not Heard

All of those generals have been trained for decades to spot a charlatan like HedgeHog. He can give all the speeches he wants but he can’t demonstrate a lifetime of honor and moral steadfast character like them.

This is gonna be interesting.

Those who remember the word “Westmorlend” can recognize the problem.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

47. He has to command it,

otherwise he won't get any.
😂

Sorry. None of this fascist crap is funny, but it is laughable.

[Lovie777]

2. shithole and the administration are getting crazier.......................

something is off with shithole, the 6 RW US SC justices, and most of the Republican party, including the RW corporations.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. See what one can waste money on when you have a trillion dollar budget.

[The Roux Comes First]

4. I Cannot Fathom the Cost to the Amerrican People of What Appears to be Absolutely Shameful Grandstanding

Of course hundreds if not thousands of Secret Service sleepovers at the "resorts" at $10K a pop may be in the same general ballpark.

[jls4561]

5. Whenever I hear Pete Hegseth blathering about "warrior ethos", I think that man is really worried about the size of his

penis.

I have no reliable information about the size of Hegseth’s penis. I just think he’s inflicting his insecurities on America, and that we are the worse for it.

And don’t even get me started on Fat Donnie from Queens.

[erronis]

8. Maybe Pete has an "innie", not an "outtie".

Sorry - old boys camp joke. But penile worries seem to bother most of the trump entourage.

Maybe Noem has the biggest?

[ananda]

6. Standards and warrior ethos...

Meaning, attack and kill any person or country
who criticizes Trump, and/or which isn't white
enough.

[JoseBalow]

7. Sounds like a bullshit cover story to me

[orangecrush]

18. Yup

[MadameButterfly]

9. I don't understand why this story isn't bigger

Last edited Sat Sep 27, 2025, 05:23 AM - Edit history (1)

The risks to our security and our democracy are potentially huge.
I expect this is about purging the military of any remaining professionals who won't follow illegal orders.
Our main hope in saving democracy is a military that won't enforce Trump's autocratic agenda.
This is right out of Hilter's playbook.
Are we going to wait until it's too late to get alarmed about this?

[speak easy]

10. Freak.

[SeattleVet]

11. "end of the fiscal year"

When I was in the Air Force those were the words that told us to order whatever we wanted so that we could spend all the money allocated for that year. We were told that if we didn't spend every penny (and then some) that had been budgeted for this year they'd cut our budget for next year, since we obviously didn't need as much as they gave us.

Lots of money wasted at the end of each fiscal by every government department trying to show that they really needed all the money that had been budgeted.

Flying every general officer to DC to participate in something that could easily be done via Zoom is a massive waste of money and personnel resources (they aren't getting to DC by themselves - they'll need aircrews, ground transportation, lodging, etc.).

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. Not just military

Govt funded social service agencies I worked for had same thinking.

[SeattleVet]

46. Yep, anything with gov funds.

I also saw it at a DoD entity and at a Dept.of Commerce agency.

[jmowreader]

50. They wouldn't even need to use Zoom

Generals can read. The military uses the Defense Message System which sends what look a lot like modern-day emails, and it could have been transmitted that way.

The problem Hegseth has, is when you stick two high-ranking officers in the same room they talk. When you stick everyone wearing a star and all their sergeants major in the same room, they talk A LOT...and they'll be talking about what to do about Donald Fucking Trump and the platoon leader he put in charge of the military.

[Vinca]

12. We're paying to fly people in from all over the world for a short speech???????????

[groundloop]

14. And it could have all been done via secure video link.

[GB_RN]

24. Ahh, But See...

That’s the problem: Pete KEGseth doesn’t do secure video chats.

[popsdenver]

49. speaking of security

anyone here but me thinking that gathering the entire worldwide group of our top Admirals and Generals, in ONE place, and at ONE time.....is beyond ludicrous????

I terrifies me to think about what they're thinking of doing............

[GB_RN]

51. Scary...

And not for just the “cutting the head off the snake” reason. Tuesday is the end of the federal fiscal year. Absent a budget deal/temporary extension bill, all the major military leadership (officers and senior noncommissioned personnel) could be STUCK in Virginia.

Besides the nightmarish shenanigans Caligula and Kegseth could get into, it provides a major opportunity for adversaries to do some shit.

[tonekat]

54. Good time for Russia to Stir the Pot

While the Command Staff is away? Shades of Milo Minderbinder cutting a deal with the Germans to bomb their own base! I would't put it past trump to do such a thing for a chance to build hotels in Moscow.

[vapor2]

27. One hour is what I hear

[Shipwack]

29. No, you don't understand.

Two speeches!

[moniss]

13. The idea of our top military leaders

being lectured to by a sloppy drunk TV personality is on brand for this bunch in the cabal of Crumb the 1st.

[Scarlet Begalas]

35. reply to monies

The military brass probably find this highly insulting. And I wouldn't blame them.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

15. I think "military standards" and "grooming" will end up being...

new rules to force black servicemen with no-shave waviers out. I think their goal is an all-white or pre-Truman segregated forces. Women will be sent packing. Just a guess.

[Roy Rolling]

16. Send Hegseth to 1960s Vietnam

He just missed by 50 years the chance to demonstrate his warrior bullshit against real live enemy fire.

[tonekat]

55. He'd be "Fragged by his own troops"

And quite quickly, I imagine.

[Martin68]

17. A grandstanding buffoon in charge of our security. What could go wrong? Let's put all our top military leaders in one

location and publicize it world-wide.

[James48]

20. One word- Stalin

When Stalin purged his generals , he had a big meeting, and had them all arrested and sent to Siberia, or murdered. In 1937, Stalin ordered a meeting of high up members of the military, and the Politbureau.

Ninety three of the 139 Central Committee members were killed and 81 of the 103 generals and admirals were executed. In 1941, a further 46 generals were murdered.

If Putin wanted to harm the USA, I can imagine him sending a missile to Quantico when every single flag officer was present. Just a small nuke would pretty much erase our entire military leadership.

Yes, Hegseth IS that stupid.

[Seinan Sensei]

38. Saddam Hussein had a major purge in July 1979

In a matter of two hours, he purged 66 ‘traitors.’

Iraqi leaders had been invited to a congress without knowing what was on the agenda.

[Cheezoholic]

21. I read about his "cool story" BS, which is scary as hell. Another thing is this meeting has been telegraphed for a week

While I'm sure something sinister is not likely, but how smart and SAFE is it to have perhaps over 500 of our top military leaders of active duty troops around the world all sitting in the same building at the same time? While I'm sure security is iron clad (maybe with these idiots?) our enemies would be salivating to hit a target like that (or clandestinely eavesdrop). We don't do that with the top civilian chain of command, we separate them when needed i.e. the State of the Union address. Whatever the reason for it it's stupid and foolish as fuck to me.

[intrepidity]

44. We assume security will be "iron clad"

but logically, all evidence is that competence simply does not factor into this admin, only loyalty. At some point, we will see what that means in the security realm.

[EarthFirst]

22. So hundreds (and staff...) were summoned from around the world...

…to hear a speech on “warrior ethos” for less than one hour in duration?

Forgive me but I’m not fucking buying it.

I’ll have more details please…

There’s something far more nefarious brewing.

[Scarlet Begalas]

34. Earth First Reply

They're really doing a great job saving taxpayer money with a stunt like this, huh?

[yellow dahlia]

52. My thinking as well.

And I know nothing about the military.

[GenThePerservering]

23. "Cool story, General"?

Has this pansy never grown up?

[Scalded Nun]

25. You really don't need a tin foil hat to consider the implications and possibilities surrounding this bazaar action.

[Ponietz]

30. Right, surprised others haven't mentioned it

Cantelope’s itching for a coup.

[Frasier Balzov]

56. Except it might mean his own ouster.

[viva la]

26. The generals have got to be groaning inwardly at his idiotic blatherings.

All he wanted, I'm sure, is to feel like The Big Man.

[vapor2]

28. I fear he will have them all take an oath to 47 and discard the constitution

[thought crime]

37. Or fire the majority, who won't sign up.

Many military professionals know what's what.

[LudwigPastorius]

31. The gist of Hegseth's speech:

[ZZenith]

32. "Generals gathered in their masses..."

?si=rc0dtHUyyfvUpEbV

[Scarlet Begalas]

33. Trumpers Are Traitors

"The speech is set for Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year. If there is a government shutdown, it could leave key staff stranded in Virginia..." These people really are trying to destroy this country.

[thought crime]

36. All the Admirals have probably read "The Caine Mutiny".

The book gives guidance for officers in situations like this.

[paulrevere2018]

39. WTF does that pompous blowhard know about warrior ethos.

Im sure he learned that at Princeton or while being a jail keeper in Guantanamo. This is just a chance for him to cosplay being a battle hardened warfare expert.

[Lonestarblue]

41. I suspect that Hegseth's version of warrior ethos is the heinous behavior of US troops at Abu Ghraib.

Hegseth was against prosecuting those soldiers for their behavior.

[MrWowWow]

42. Is This Going to Be a Sign the Loyalty Oath or Be Forced Out Assembly?

[sindri]

43. James Bond villain was my first thought!

Does he have a shark tank in which to dump those who don't go along with him?

[Du916]

48. We likely will be in a number of military conflicts soon.

I was just speaking to a recently retired career military intelligence officer who specialized in WMDs. He mentioned a high probability of conflict in Taiwan, as well as in Venezuela. He also mention heightened tension with Russia that he thinks will soon erupt. We did not talk party/MAGA politics because I assumed he would be a Repub. But when I tried to tease a response by stating that the current administration is burning down the United States, he remarked that it’s gotten really bad and the whole world is on fire.

[CentralMass]

53. Generals gather in their masses...