From ‘Woke to War Department’: The Political Message in Quantico

On September 30, 2025, at Pete Hegseth’s direction, roughly 800 generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisers from dozens of global commands were abruptly summoned to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia for an unprecedented in-person assembly with President Donald Trump. Analysts estimated the cost in the millions of dollars, largely for travel, lodging, and security.

Hegseth opened by declaring, “Welcome to the War Department — because the era of the Department of Defense is over.” Standing before a crowd of the nation's most seasoned military professionals, Hegseth—whose own military experience is approximately 1/30th (we did the math) of everyone else in the room (well, except for that of the President) —vowed to “end woke garbage,” “eliminate diversity offices,” and restore a “warrior ethos.” He chastised the senior leaders, saying, “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” and warned, “If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then do the honorable thing and resign.” Nice…

At one juncture, Hegseth attempted to encourage the Generals with words in which he informed them about the overwhelming capabilities of the service members and weapon systems in which they, themselves, are the experts. He said “Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department. In other words, to our enemies, FAFO.” He then added “If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.”Note, we here at the Pragmatic Patriot did have to ask a modern troop what the heck that meant - it’s an acronym for “f--- around and find out.”

Trump followed with remarks focused on loyalty and domestic readiness: “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.” When the Generals and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers remained quiet, adhering to the long-standing military tradition of remaining professionally stoic and not applauding at political events, Trump quipped, “I never walked into a room so silent before.” He then added, “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave — but there goes your rank.”

Observers across the political spectrum said the event crossed long-standing lines between military service and partisan politics, transforming a professional leadership conference into a politically charged spectacle.