Sen. Duckworth on Hegseth’s Quantico speech : NPR

Scott Detrow, host:

President Trump and his defense secretary Pete Hegseth, both addressed hundreds of generals and senior admirals in a base outside of Washington, DC, today. The meeting itself was very unusual as the military rallies leave, but the message was usual for the Trump administration. President Trump has reprimanded his predecessors, like President Joe Biden, has tried to obtain generals and admirals who have committed to be non -supported supporters, and once again called on soldiers to be deployed in cities led by Democrats. And secretary Hegseth has announced more policies aimed at developing what he calls a warlike philosophy and eliminating what he calls elements awake in the army. For reaction, we have reached the American senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois democrat who is part of the Senate armed services committee and who also stole army helicopters into combat missions during the war in Iraq. Senator, thank you for coming.

Tammy Duckworth: It’s my pleasure. Thank you for doing me.

Detrow: I want to go through several specific things, the secretary, Hegseth, said today because they all come to these broad themes of his leadership of the Pentagon. First of all, he said that the goal of his department would be exclusively war fighting. He then challenged the opponents of us with the term FAFO, which is an acronym that you and I know both the meaning, but I am told that I cannot say on the radio, fundamentally, daring of other countries to challenge the United States, what do you do with this general message and this supervision?

Duckworth: Well, I think it shows how weak he is as a defense secretary, right? This is the kind of boastful you see. The inhabitants of the army who are really fatal are those who are the quietest. And what you have here is a defense secretary who failed as an army officer. I mean, it is the least qualified defense secretary in history. We have a dodger double for a president. All of this was a stroke of ego so that they could stand in front of a pile of flag officers. And ultimately, this did not do anything to improve the preparation of our soldiers. And if anything, he wasted millions of dollars of taxpayers by piloting all these flag officers in Washington, DC, when they should have trained and prepare their troops for the battle.

Detow: I’m curious. For you, is it just a more colorful way of saying peace by force, what you have heard in administrations for decades? Do you have specific concerns that the secretary seems too eager to enter a conflict?

Duckworth: Yes, I mean, Trump and Hegseth want to enter the conflict, and obviously Trump is to enter a conflict that he does not have to fight. He wants to use soldiers and women as small toy soldiers. None of this keeps Americans safe worldwide. If anything, it really causes the rest of the world to try to fight with the United States.

Detrow: I mentioned before something that I think that many listeners know that you have stolen helicopters in combat. I was curious to get your response to another big section of the speech.

(Soundbit of archived registration)

Pete Hegseth: Today, in my direction, each service will guarantee that each requirement for each combat mos, for each designated combat combat position, returns only to the highest male standard.

Duckworth: I mean, I think it is ironic that the least qualified person for their work calls into question the qualifications of women who have really respected the standards of their work. It is interesting that he left the age. You know, the male standard for an 18 -year -old man is not the same as the norm for a 45 -year -old man. It therefore shows a lack of understanding from him. He tries to erase the value shown by women, people of color and many others who served in uniform, and that is laughing at our veterans, do you know? He can do the whole pt of the world, but he could not pilot a helicopter.

Detrow: Can you say more about what you see who makes you say that you think they are trying to push people in color of the roles of combat?

Duckworth: Well, at the end of his speech, he published a whole bunch of memorandums to the military going after diversity. Diversity in the army is good for the preparation of our soldiers – the fact that we have troops that can speak various languages ​​in the world. We have troops that can blend with the local population when they go to places. If anything, what they are trying to do is make our soldiers less capable of fighting wars.

Detrow: Another moment that attracted a lot of attention was new directives issued to higher officers. Here is a moment of this speech.

(Soundbit of archived registration)

Hegseth: It’s tiring to watch the combat training or really any training and see the big troops. Likewise, it is completely unacceptable to see large generals and admirals in the corridors of the Pentagon and leaders in the country and the world. It’s a bad look.

Detrow: I guess the senator, is this a concern that you share? What was your response to this secretary’s message?

Duckworth: Listen, the army already has weight standards and physical condition standards for all our troops. And if Pete Hegseth is concerned about the weight and physical form of our troops, he should also apply them to the commander-in-chief.

Detrow: He’s Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois democrat and a war veteran in Iraq. Thank you very much for talking to us.

Duckworth: Thank you.

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