SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
President Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, both addressed hundreds of senior generals and admirals at a base outside of Washington, D.C., today. The meeting itself was highly unusual as military gatherings go, but the message was usual for the Trump administration. President Trump berated his predecessors, like President Joe Biden, tried to get generals and admirals who have pledged to be nonpartisan to applaud, and again called for the military to be deployed to Democratic-run cities. And Secretary Hegseth announced more policies aiming to develop what he calls a warrior ethos and eliminate what he calls woke elements in the military. For reaction, we have reached U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who's on the Senate Armed Services Committee and who also flew Army helicopters in combat missions during the Iraq War. Senator, thanks for coming on.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH: It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
DETROW: I want to walk through several specific things Secretary Hegseth said today because they all get to these broader themes of his Pentagon leadership. First off, he said the purpose of his department would be exclusively war fighting. He went on to challenge U.S. adversaries with the term FAFO, which is an acronym you and I both know the meaning to but I'm told I cannot say on the radio, basically, daring other countries to challenge the U.S. What do you make of that general message and that framing of it?
DUCKWORTH: Well, I think it shows how weak he is as a secretary of defense, right? This is the kind of bluster you see. The people in the military who are truly deadly are the ones who are the most quiet. And what you've got here is a secretary of defense who failed as an Army officer. I mean, he's the least-qualified secretary of defense in history. We've got a five-time draft dodger for a president. This whole thing was an ego stroke for them to be able to stand up in front of a bunch of flag officers. And at the end of the day, it did nothing to improve the readiness of our military. And if anything, it wasted millions of taxpayer dollars by flying all of these flag officers into Washington, D.C., when they should have been out training and preparing their troops for battle.
DETROW: I'm curious. To you, is that just a more colorful way of saying peace through strength, which is something that you've heard across administrations for decades? Do you have any specific worries that the secretary seems overly eager to get into a conflict?
DUCKWORTH: Yeah, I mean, both Trump and Hegseth want to get into conflict, and obviously Trump is all about getting into a conflict that he doesn't have to fight. He wants to use military men and women as his little toy soldiers. None of this keeps Americans safe around the world. If anything, it is really provoking the rest of the world to try to engage in a fight with the United States.
DETROW: I mentioned before something I think a lot of listeners know, that you flew helicopters in combat. I was curious to get your response to another big section of the speech.
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PETE HEGSETH: Today, at my direction, each service will ensure that every requirement for every combat MOS, for every designated combat arms position, returns to the highest male standard only.
DUCKWORTH: I mean, I think it's ironic that the least-qualified person for his job is questioning the qualifications of women who actually have met the standards for their jobs. It's interesting that he left out age. You know, the male standard for an 18-year-old man is not the same as what the standard is for a 45-year-old. So it just shows a lack of understanding on his part. He's trying to erase the valor shown by women, people of color and many others who've served in uniform, and it makes a mockery of our veterans, you know? He can do all the PT in the world, but he couldn't fly a helicopter.
DETROW: Can you say more about what you're seeing that makes you say that you think that they're trying to push people of color out of combat roles?
DUCKWORTH: Well, at the end of his speech, he issued a whole bunch of memorandums to the military going after diversity. Diversity in the military is good for our military's readiness - the fact that we have troops who can speak various languages around the world. We have troops who can blend in with the local population when they go places. If anything, what they're trying to do is going to make our military less able to fight the wars.
DETROW: One other moment that got a lot of attention was some new directives issued to higher-ranking officers. Here's a moment from that speech.
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HEGSETH: It's tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It's a bad look.
DETROW: I guess, Senator, is this a concern you share? What was your response to this message from the secretary?
DUCKWORTH: Listen, the military already has weight standards and physical fitness standards for all of our troops. And if Pete Hegseth is worried about the weight and fitness of our troops, maybe he should also apply them to the commander in chief.
DETROW: That is Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and an Iraq war veteran. Thanks so much for talking to us.
DUCKWORTH: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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