Hegseth rails against ‘woke,’ lays out standards in speech to top generals, admirals

InaspeechTuesdaymorningbeforeanauditoriumpackedwithseveralhundredofthenation’smostseasonedmilitarycommanders,DefenseSecretaryPeteHegsethcalledforanendto“woke”cultureinthemilitaryandrailedagainstalitanyofcomplaintssuchasdiversityandprobesintohazing. “Theeraofpoliticallycorrect,overlysensitive,don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelingsleadershipendsrightnow,”HegsethsaidatthegatheringataMarineCorpsbaseinQuantico,Virginia—asecuresiteanhoursouthofthenation’scapital. Hegsethcalledfor“nomoredivision,distractionorgenderdelusions”inanextraordinarilybluntspeechontheimportanceofthe“warriorethos,”atermheusestodescribethespiritthatmakescombatunitseffective. “Wemustbeprepared,”hesaid.“Eitherwe’rereadytowinorwearenot.” Hegsethissuednewdirectivesthatwillraisephysicalstandardsforeveryoneinuniformtoa“malelevel,̶