'We're Restoring The Warrior Ethos': Pete Hegseth Speaks To Troops At Fort Bragg

Forbes Breaking News

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to troops at Fort Bragg.

Transcript

00:00Thunderstruck

00:02Thunderstruck

00:06Yeah, yeah, yeah, Thunderstruck

00:10Thunderstruck

00:24I was shaking off the knees

00:28You're gonna come against me

00:34Well, good afternoon, Fort Bragg.

00:42It is Fort Bragg, isn't it?

00:46Let me tell you what a privilege it was

00:48to be just a few miles away from here

00:50watching a sheer demonstration

00:54of military power

00:56from the All-Americans

01:02It's incredible

01:04I wish every American

01:06could stand in that field and watch

01:08600 paratroopers fall from the sky

01:10after preparatory fires

01:12and assault on the objective

01:14That's sheer American firepower

01:16But you know what I wish Americans could also see?

01:20What I get a chance to see

01:22every day

01:24What other members of the Cabinet get to see every day

01:26Which is our Commander-in-Chief

01:28President Donald Trump

01:30putting America first

01:32Putting America first

01:40It doesn't matter the situation

01:42whether he's meeting with foreign leaders

01:44or meeting in the Oval Office

01:46or he's talking to soldiers

01:48He's the same leader we know and love

01:50He's laser focused

01:52on America first

01:54on peace through strength

01:56and then supporting

01:58our American warfighters

02:00and vets

02:06You know exactly where his compass is

02:08You know exactly what he believes

02:10And what I tell troops when we travel across the world

02:12And we've had

02:14I've had a chance to meet so many of you fine Americans

02:16What I always say

02:18the message from our Commander-in-Chief is

02:20He has your back

02:28That matters

02:29Let me tell you

02:30I've been not that long ago

02:32in shoes and boots similar to yours

02:34And when I was going on a mission

02:36or I was about to take part in something

02:38that was uncertain

02:40Involved complications

02:42The fog of war

02:44All I wanted to know

02:46was that my Company Commander

02:48Battalion Commander

02:49Brigade Commander

02:50Division Commander

02:51and my Commander-in-Chief

02:52had my back

02:53when I had to do difficult things

02:55on behalf of the nation

02:56where politicians

02:57and air-conditioned offices

02:59don't understand

03:00and they want to second guess

03:02President Donald J. Trump

03:04has your back

03:06So at the Defense Department

03:12we're doing three critical things

03:14at his direction

03:15Number one

03:16We're restoring the warrior ethos

03:18We're getting back to basics

03:20Standards, accountability, readiness, training, warfighting, lethality

03:26We're not a college or a university

03:30We're not interested in your woke garbage

03:32and your political correctness

03:34We're warfighters who close with and destroy the enemy on behalf of our nation when we come home

03:38To those we love

03:40Because we don't fight because we hate what's in front of us

03:42We fight because we love what's in front of us

03:44We fight because we love what's behind us

03:56That's what makes the American soldier different

03:59So we're restoring the warrior ethos back to basics

04:02We're also rebuilding our military

04:04We'll have the first trillion dollar budget

04:06You will have the best equipment in your hands

04:10To stare down the enemy

04:11From multi-billion dollar platforms

04:14To the best rifles

04:15To the best equipment

04:16To hypersonics

04:17And drones

04:18And fighters

04:19And jets

04:20Ships

04:21And carriers

04:22Everything you need

04:23President Trump will make sure you have

04:24We're rebuilding the military

04:26After four years of deferred maintenance

04:36And finally we're reestablishing deterrence

04:40Our allies know that we stand with them

04:43And our adversaries know what we are capable of doing to them

04:48So that we can maintain peace through strength

04:53President Trump seeks peace

04:55He wants peace

04:57So do I

04:58So do you

04:59For our families

05:00For our kids

05:01And our grandkids

05:02But those who long for peace

05:04Must prepare for war

05:06And that's something the 82nd Airborne

05:09America's 9-1-1

05:10Does every single day

05:13So it's an absolute honor

05:15To be your 29th Secretary of Defense

05:18You have my pledge that every single day

05:21Our focus is on you and your mission

05:24And having your back

05:26And you're about one minute away

05:28From hearing from your commander-in-chief

05:31President Donald Trump

05:34God bless you and God bless our nation

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