Hegseth Blasts DEI, ‘Woke’ Military at West Point
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized diversity initiatives and progressive military leadership at West Point, vowing to reverse what he called a decade-long decline in military standards and discipline.
Speaking before graduating cadets at the Hudson River academy on an overcast afternoon, Hegseth launched pointed attacks against institutional leaders who implemented DEI programs, arguing they have weakened America’s armed forces at a critical moment when President Trump is weighing military action against Iran.
The Defense Secretary did not mince words about his alma mater, criticizing predecessors who “embraced the DEI craze” and warning cadets against following that trajectory. “You are an American army, an army of warriors,” he declared, rejecting what he framed as ideological contamination within military ranks.
Standards Under Fire
Hegseth enumerated specific concerns he said plague the service: lowered physical standards, excessive focus on racial and gender metrics, eroded discipline codes, and abandonment of institutional traditions. He singled out efforts to remove Confederate monuments from military installations as symptomatic of a broader cultural assault on military heritage.
“The slow slide here at West Point, and across the United States Army, is over,” he pledged to the assembled graduates.
The Defense Secretary rejected the rallying cry of diversity advocates, calling it “the single dumbest phrase in military history” and asserting that unity, not demographic representation, constitutes genuine military strength. He noted the Army has successfully met recruitment targets despite these organizational challenges.
With information from New York Post
