QUANTICO, Virginia: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced some major changes to the US military on Wednesday in what he called his \u201cState of the Force\u201d address, including establishing a new drone command and cutting 20 percent of the nation\u2019s generals and admirals.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon also will launch an effort to study the future of warfare that will be led in part by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Hegseth said. The Defense Department will create an Office of Religious Affairs and plans to build a new base for the first time in 40 years, he added.<\/p>\n Hegseth made the announcements to junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia \u2014 the second year in a row that he has given such an address. But this time, the US military is seven months into a war with Iran with no clear end in sight, has captured Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and killed more than 200 people in strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in Latin America, among other actions worldwide.<\/p>\n The speech is not a usual fixture among Pentagon leaders. While Hegseth\u2019s predecessors have regularly addressed troops and top officers, they have traditionally done so in small or private settings.<\/p>\n The Pentagon chief, however, again led with how he has drastically retooled the US military by targeting what he calls \u201cwoke\u201d culture \u2014 through a rollback of diversity programs, a review of ground combat units with female troops and a new screening program for \u201ctestosterone deficiency\u201d among male personnel.<\/p>\n Hegseth announces a new drone-focused warfare command<\/strong><\/p>\n The Pentagon chief announced the creation of a new four-star command to oversee the rollout of autonomous and robotic capabilities in what he called \u201cthe fastest peacetime shift in modern military history.\u201d<\/p>\n He acknowledged that \u201cthe pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it.\u201d Iran commonly uses cheap drones, including those that have killed US troops during the seven-month war. Hegseth pointed to Ukraine\u2019s pioneering use of drones to combat Russian forces \u2014 something American forces have learned from firsthand.<\/p>\n \u201cUkraine\u2019s lesson is not that one type of drone wins wars, but rather the need for a purpose-built system that maximizes the ability to adapt,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n However, a US Army unit based in Europe that specialized in drone warfare was ordered recently to end its efforts and return to being a traditional infantry battalion.<\/p>\n A bipartisan group of US lawmakers subsequently asked the Army to explain the order, given that the world\u2019s battlefields are rapidly evolving and military tactics increasingly rely on uncrewed systems to fight.<\/p>\n The new drone command comes as the US is in a stalemate with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy shipping corridor. The war has forced American forces in the region to expend hundreds of expensive missile interceptors to defend against Iran\u2019s missile and drone attacks, which have still managed to kill and wound US troops.<\/p>\n Hegseth repeated claims that the US military has destroyed Iran\u2019s navy, air force and defense systems as well as many of its leaders and its industrial base. But Tehran has continued intermittently to launch drone and missile attacks against at US or allied bases, while maintaining its ability to strike commercial and military ships in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n During his speech, Hegseth touted the Trump administration\u2019s major investments in the defense industry and push for contractors to speed up their work to expand the nation\u2019s weapons arsenals. But experts say US military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of key weapons systems used heavily in the Iran war.<\/p>\n Hegseth faces questions from lawmakers over cuts to general ranks<\/strong><\/p>\n Hegseth said he directed the military services to double the 10 percent reduction he ordered last spring for roughly 800 flag and general officer positions, to a 20 percent decrease to be completed by Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cI call it accountability and long overdue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some members of Congress have criticized the war and the drawdown of munitions stockpiles, while calling the latest cuts to the general ranks a \u201cpurge\u201d that will take years to rebuild.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,\u201d said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, a former Navy combat pilot who has been critical of Hegseth. \u201cHe\u2019s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it\u2019s going to take a generation to recover from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wanted to understand Hegseth\u2019s reasoning.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s simply a matter of eliminating a very heavy top, there may be some validity to it, but I want to see it first,\u201d Rounds said.<\/p>\n Musk and Gingrich to lead a study of future warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n In innovating the next wave of weapons systems, Hegseth announced an effort to study the future of warfare led by Musk, Gingrich and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril Industries.<\/p>\n Hegseth said the work \u201cwill be focused on discovering, developing and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes.\u201d He pointed to the need to dominate \u201cany future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n This month, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed weapons in space, a remarkable revelation after previous warnings about countries such as Russia possibly weaponizing a global frontier long agreed in treaties to be used for only peaceful purposes.<\/p>\n Among the other announcements was the unveiling of a plan to build a new military base, with Hegseth inviting all 50 states to compete for the chance to play host to 15,000 to 20,000 service members. He also announced a plan to make every military base self-powered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Defense](\"https:\/\/assets.maestronewsroom.com\/media\/30f6532d-717b-4366-9158-9c455299fcd9\/1790807797965-d24571260cf7006e.jpg\")
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