Where George Washington would disagree with Pete Hegseth about fitness for command and what makes a warrior

By: Maurizio Valsania, Università di Torino

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 25, 2025

Words: 1,169

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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As he paced across a stage at a military base in Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals he had summoned from around the world that he aimed to reshape the military’s culture.

Ten new directives, he said, would strip away what he called “woke garbage” and restore what he termed a “warrior ethos.”

The phrase “warrior ethos” – a …

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