Where George Washington would disagree with Pete Hegseth about fitness for command and what makes a warrior

On Dec. 4, 1783, after six years fighting against the British as head of the Continental Army, George Washington said farewell to his officers and returned to civilian life. Engraving by T. Phillibrown from a painting by Alonzo Chappell

As he paced across a stage at a military base in Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals he had summoned from around the world that he aimed to reshape the military’s culture.

Ten new directives, he said, would strip away what he called “woke garbage” and restore what he termed a “warrior ethos.”