JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Against the backdrop of an unpopular war with Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a State of the Force address today at a Virginia military base to hundreds of junior military leaders. Hegseth declared that the Pentagon is reviving a warrior ethos from what he called its woke past, and he attacked the press for its coverage. He also announced new initiatives, including a four-star drone command and a project to study the future of warfare. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman listened to that speech and is with us now. And Tom, that's quite a list.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Yeah, and there's more, Juana, Secretary Hegseth said he plans a sharp cut in the number of generals and admirals. He's long complained about a bloated bureaucracy, politically correct officers. Now, get this. There are some 850 of these senior officers, which has jumped 31% in the last five decades. Here's what he said.
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PETE HEGSETH: You see, the number crunchers say we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force, and that number sounds about right. And I know, because I directed it, that we've also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10%. So yes, 20% reduction across the board.
BOWMAN: Now, Juana, some retired officers I talk with say, you know, listen, we're probably too top-heavy with senior military leaders. But they worry whether this will be done appropriately. Will Hegseth, let's say, try to get rid of officers he sees as not loyal or who question him, such as Army General Randy George and Army General "C.D." Donahue, widely seen as some of the best? And he's also fired a number of senior Black and female officers, questioning whether they got the job because of their race or gender.
Also, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, said lawmakers have a role here, and Hegseth must come to Capitol Hill to explain his reasoning for these cuts.
SUMMERS: OK, and this talk about restoring the warrior ethos - so is Hegseth saying it's back?
BOWMAN: Right. After just a year and a half. Let's listen.
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HEGSETH: Now, for almost two years, you've heard me talk over and over and over about three core priorities - reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence. And I'm proud to stand on this stage and report that the warrior ethos has been revived.
BOWMAN: Now, he said there are no longer lawyers or HR types holding commanders back. No more DEI. No more risk aversion or social engineering. But Juana, it's hard to see exactly what has happened over the last year or so to allow him to make that statement. And also, he repeatedly accused the press of harming the military with its reporting, even using the word treason for revealing damage to U.S. bases when the Iran War - even though top officers pointed out that Iranian attacks on such bases as Bahrain would mean no U.S. forces will return there anytime soon.
And he also attacked the press for saying there was low morale in the military. But our reporting and others' on stories like long deployments of U.S. warships, suicide attempts show that is the case, based on what families and service members are telling us.
SUMMERS: And Tom, about those new initiatives Hegseth announced, what can you tell us?
BOWMAN: Yeah, the most substantive part of this hour-long talk at the Quantico Marine base, he said there'll be a new autonomous warfare command headed by a four-star officer. It'll look at the development of drone warfare. Of course, the drone, as we've seen in the Ukraine-Russia war, has been a key development. And part of that will be Project Agincourt, which - named after the 15th century English versus French battle where the English used the longbow effectively against French knights. Clearly, the drone is the longbow of this century.
He also came up with Project Meridian, looking at the future of warfare, and Hegseth wants a report within 120 days. And the project will include some familiar names, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Elon Musk.
SUMMERS: Interesting. NPR's Tom Bowman, thanks as always.
BOWMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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