The Latest: Hegseth declares an end to ‘politically correct’ leadership in the US military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of U.S. military officials to an in-person meeting Tuesday to announce directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness as well as an end to “woke” culture in the military.

“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said.

He said he’s loosening disciplinary rules and weakening hazing protections.

Hegseth and President Donald Trump abruptly called military leaders from around the world to convene at a base in Virginia without publicly revealing the reason until Tuesday morning. While meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new, experts say the scale of the gathering, the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it are particularly unusual.

Here’s the latest:

The department will overhaul its inspector general process

Hegseth said the Pentagon’s watchdog has been “weaponized” and therefore will be retooled with new policies.

There will be more anonymous or frivolous complaints, Hegseth said, nicknaming his new directive the “no more walking on eggshells policy.”

The announcement comes amid an ongoing investigation by the inspector general’s office into Hegseth’s team and its use of the Signal encrypted messaging app. Earlier this year, a report in The Atlantic showed Hegseth shared sensitive military information in a chat that included senior national security officials and a journalist.

Hegseth talks about new tests, weight requirements

Hegseth said the Pentagon will add a combat field test for certain units that resemble the Army’s expert physical fitness assessment or the Marine Corps combat fitness test. Hegseth said every member of the joint force will be required to meet height and weight requirements.

“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said.

Hegseth maintained, as he has done in the past, that he would not allow facial hair.

“No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression,” Hegseth said. “We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.”

Hegseth sticks to his usual talking points

Hegseth’s address has largely focused on his own long-used talking points that painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by so-called “woke” policies.

“The military has been forced by foolish and reckless politicians to focus on the wrong things,” Hegseth argued, before adding that his speech “is about fixing decades of decay, some of it obvious, some of it hidden.”

Hegseth used the platform to slam topics like physical fitness and grooming standards, environmental policies and transgender troops while talking up well-worn ideas like “the warrior ethos” and “peace through strength.”

Defense Department to review its definition of ‘toxic leadership’

Hegseth said concerns over “toxic leadership” have been misrepresented in the military, demanding a new review.

“We’re undertaking a full review of the department’s definitions of so-called ‘toxic leadership,’ bullying and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing,” he said.

Hegseth defended his own leadership and demand for high standards as “not toxic.” He said that while “nasty” bullying and hazing still won’t be allowed, the terms were weaponized in previous administrations.

Hegseth: ‘We became the woke department, but not anymore’

The defense secretary is announcing a variety of directives that he argues will help clear out what he calls “woke garbage” in the nation’s military.

Hegseth said there will be a new requirement for every combat arms to use the highest male standard only. He also announced a new combat field test.

“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” he said. “This job is life and death. Standards must be met.”

Family says a Mexican man shot at a Dallas ICE facility has died

A second detainee shot in an attack on a Dallas immigration field office last week has died, his family said Tuesday.

In a statement shared by the League of United Latin American Citizens, the family confirmed that Miguel Ángel García-Hernández, 32, succumbed to his injuries after being removed from life support.

The Mexican man was one of three detainees shot in the Sept. 24 attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas. That attack left one man dead and two other detainees critically wounded. Officials previously identified the man who was killed in the attack as Norlan Guzman-Fuentes.

▶ Read more about the attack on the Dallas ICE facility

Hegseth says the department’s mission is ‘warfighting’

The defense secretary is using phrases he often does, referring to warfighting and a “warrior ethos” during the beginning of his remarks.

Saying the era of the Department of Defense is over, he said “preparing to win” is the goal as the Trump administration wants to rebrand to the Department of War.

“Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department,” he said.

Meeting of military leaders kicks off

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, kicked off a gathering of military leaders standing before a giant American flag by saying that “we are living in dynamic and potentially dangerous times.”

“Even as we strive for and seek peace, we must be prepared for war,” Caine said.

FBI boss Kash Patel gave New Zealand officials 3D-printed guns illegal to possess under local laws

On a visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.

The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least three senior New Zealand security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.

Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law and possessing one requires an additional permit beyond a regular gun license. Law enforcement agencies didn’t specify whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but they couldn’t have legally kept the gifts if they didn’t.

It wasn’t clear what permissions Patel had sought to bring the weapons into the country. A spokesperson for Patel told the AP Tuesday that the FBI would not comment.

▶ Read more about the 3D-printed weapons

120 Iranians detained in the US for entering the country illegally will be returned to Iran, state TV says

Iran said Tuesday that 120 Iranians detained in the United States for illegally entering the country will be returned to Iran in the coming days.

As many as 400 Iranians would be returning to Iran as part of the deal with the U.S., Iranian state television said, citing Hossein Noushabadi, director-general for parliamentary affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry. He said the majority of those people had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, while some faced other immigration issues.

The U.S. has not acknowledged striking a deportation deal with Iran.

▶ Read more about the reported deportation plan