President Donald Trump will attend Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s address to hundreds of senior military officials on Tuesday morning at Quantico, a Marine Corps base in Virginia, though many details about it are still shrouded in secrecy.
The unusual directive was sent to officials internationally last week, and while Pentagon officials confirmed the order, they did not provide details on what prompted it or what he’ll address during his speech. More than 800 generals and flag officers are stationed across the globe, although not all are expected to attend. Of those, there are currently 37 active-duty four-star generals.
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Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Examiner last week.
Hundreds of senior officials stationed worldwide were summoned for this meeting, which President Donald Trump has since said he would attend. It’s unclear why the event will take place in person rather than virtually.
The lack of information divulged about the meeting has fueled speculation, though Trump has shed some light on the message Hegseth will share with senior leaders.
It will be “really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things,” the president told NBC News in a phone interview.
“We have some great people coming in, and it’s just an esprit de corps. You know the expression ‘esprit de corps’?” Trump added. “That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing.”
The president’s attendance at the meeting raises the necessary security for the event, and the Secret Service will now be in charge of it.
Trump has supported Hegseth’s tenure as Secretary of War despite a handful of controversies in recent months, while the former Fox News host has changed several aspects of the department. Hegseth frequently talks about restoring “the warrior ethos,” and reorienting the military to its primary mission of deterrence and winning military operations.
HEGSETH ORDERS RARE MEETING WITH HUNDREDS OF SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIALS
Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) wrote a letter to Hegseth last week asking for details regarding the estimated cost of the event, including the travel expenses for the hundreds of officers who are expected to fly in for the meeting.
In reshaping the department, Hegseth has fired several senior military leaders, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, then the Chief of Naval Operations; Adm. Linda Fagan, then the Coast Guard Commandant; and Gen. James Slife, the former vice chief of staff of the Air Force.