Hundreds of generals flew to Virginia to hear President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — though reactions weren’t exactly glowing.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling is now speaking out, and he’s not holding back.
On September 30, hundreds of generals and admirals from U.S. military bases around the world were called in for an emergency meeting of unclear purpose, according to The Washington Post.
The unusual directive forced senior leaders to travel from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for a gathering that many feared could signal major cuts — or even firings.
That Donald Trump would also speak did little to calm nerves.
”Overweight generals and admirals”
When the meeting finally kicked off at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out his vision for the future of the forces.
He grabbed attention for his calls to end so-called “woke” practices in the military, targeting everything from female service members to beards.
“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” Hegseth said.
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The secretary also criticized what he called ‘overweight generals and admirals’ at the Pentagon and slammed Biden-era efforts to increase diversity in the military.
Unsurprisingly, both the speech and the meeting drew heavy criticism.
“More like a press conference than briefing the generals,” said a defense official, speaking anonymously to Politico over fears of retribution.
“Could have been an email.”
Massive security risk
Critics also warned of the massive security risk in putting almost all of America’s top officers in the same room, and many dismissed Hegseth’s attempt to boost the military’s aggressive image through stricter grooming standards and ending diversity programs.
“It‘s a waste of time for a lot of people who emphatically had better things they could and should be doing,” a former senior defense official told Politico.
“It’s also an inexcusable strategic risk to concentrate so many leaders in the operational chain of command in the same publicly known time and place, to convey an inane message of little merit.”
During the meeting, Donald Trump, true to form, covered a lot of ground in his public address — including his now-infamous line about “two N words.” (The second one, by the way, is nuclear.)
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant speaks out
Much of the criticism came anonymously — but one voice stood out.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling did not hold back.
He blasted Hegseth’s speech and even suggested that some leaders might have resisted the orders given, calling the address a violation of an unwritten code of military discipline.
Hertling is no ordinary military figure. From March 2011 to November 2012, he served as the Commanding General of United States Army Europe and the Seventh Army.
Speaking on MSNBC, Hertling said Trump was clearly “rattled” by the reaction in the room. He also said Hegseth essentially asked the leaders to violate the oath of service they had taken.
Wikipedia Commons / U.S Army
“But truthfully, those individuals will leave that room or left that room yesterday and they’ll start discussing and analyzing how they can implement some of the lawful orders that they got,” Hertling explained.
“You know, okay, great, we can buck up the standards. We can take a look at the kinds of things to get some soldiers, not all, certainly not even the majority, back in better shape. Take a look at what our ranks look like.
“But there were also soldiers and, well, all ranks of services, in that audience that said, wait a minute.
“When they were writing down the same kind of checklist that I was writing down, saying, wait a minute, we can’t do that, or we shouldn’t do that, or this is a true violation of what we are as professionals or, hey, I’ve got women in my ranks who are performing admirably.
“That’s the worst part of all this”
“Why should I kind of lump them all together like the secretary did? Or I’m certainly now going to debate with myself, what am I going to say if I’m asked to go on the street and conduct illegal actions?”
“And I guarantee you that the people in that audience will not execute illegal orders,” he added.
Hertling, who had a distinguished military career, went on to explain the deeper issue.
“But at the same time, all of them, not only were they personally embarrassed, but they were embarrassed for their services that had, you know, sit in that audience and listen to this kind of stuff.
“That’s the worst part of all this.
“You know, there’s a saying in the military that’s a great leadership dictum: ‘You praise in public and you discipline in private.’
“This was a disciplinary approach in public with cameras, so the whole nation could see. And it was an attempt at separating the military institution from the people that they defend.”