A special operations leader who led a key battle in the Iraq War called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's meeting Tuesday among top military brass an "insane insult" to senior officers responsible for complex military operations.
“I mean, first of all, that’s like an insane insult to his senior officers, who all made their bones fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Elliot Ackerman, who led Marines in the second battle of Fallujah, told The New York Times. “Those guys have got a lot more dust on their boots than he does.”
Hegseth — who stood in front of an American flag and wore an American flag belt buckle similar to General Patton in the 1970 film "Patton" — served 12 months in Iraq and is a former major in the Army National Guard, The Times reports. His vision of the military is based on this experience, and "much of his address focused on the kinds of issues he would have dealt with as a young platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq or as a company commander in the Guard."
He also decried "the woke" and talked about grooming, saying "no more beards, long hair, superficial, individual expression."
“We’re going to cut our hair, shave, shave our beards and adhere to standards," Hegseth said.
Hegseth also said women would be held to the "highest male standard" for serving in combat roles. And while women can still serve in combat roles, it harkens to World War II-era policies when women didn't fight in war.
“If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” Hegseth said.
He implied that physical strength should be a top priority among the ranking military leaders, and appeared to suggest that the U.S. struggles to win wars.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Hegseth said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
He compared himself and his own physical abilities to the other public servants.
“If the secretary of war can do regular, hard P.T., so can every member of our joint force," he said, speaking of himself.
Then, he told them what he expected, while the military officials sat silent.
“You are hereby liberated to be an apolitical, hard-charging, no-nonsense, constitutional leader that you joined the military to be,” he said.