Secretary Hegseth calls for fixing 'decades of decay' in military during address

Policy & Strategy - The Department of Defense aims to fix decades of decay caused by foolish and reckless politicians focusing on the wrong things [1] - The Department is ending the "war on warriors" by removing distractions and clearing the way for leaders to lead [2] - The Department intends to remove social justice, politically correct, and toxic ideological garbage that had infected it [6] - Common sense is back, and changes are straightforward, with President Trump's expectation [7] Standards & Merit - The Department must restore a ruthless, dispassionate, and common sense application of standards [11] - Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral, and high; otherwise, they are just suggestions [12] - Leaders should be promoted based on merit, performance, and war fighting abilities, not on race, gender quotas, or historic firsts [2][11] Personnel & Training - The Secretary of Defense would want his son to join the kind of unit that every parent deserves to have their child join [9] - The Department does not want troops serving with fat, unfit, or undertrained individuals, or where standards were lowered [10][11]