U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told graduating members of the United States Military Academy on Saturday that they are not an "army of woke" [1].
The address signals a continued push by the administration to purge diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and political correctness from the nation's armed forces. Hegseth used the commencement ceremony at West Point, New York, to frame these ideologies as distractions from military readiness [1, 2].
During the speech, Hegseth criticized the influence of "woke" ideologies on the military training and culture [1, 3]. He argued that such social frameworks have no place in combat operations or strategic leadership. "You can't throw your pronouns at the enemy," Hegseth said [3].
The Secretary urged the new officers to focus on traditional military values and spiritual grounding rather than modern social theories. He told the class to "seek God" as a means of finding strength and direction in their careers [2].
This rhetoric aligns with broader efforts to remove DEI-related programs from military installations. Hegseth described the administration's goal as returning the military to a primary focus on lethality and combat effectiveness [1, 3]. He told the graduates that the military must remain an institution of merit and discipline, free from the constraints of political correctness [1].
The address took place on May 23, 2026, serving as a public mandate for the incoming officer class to align with the current leadership's ideological shift [3].
“"You are not an army of woke."”
Hegseth's address represents a formal ideological pivot for the U.S. military leadership. By targeting the graduating class at West Point, the Defense Secretary is attempting to instill a culture of 'anti-wokeness' at the entry level of the officer corps. This suggests that the administration intends to make the rejection of DEI and political correctness a core component of leadership expectations for the next generation of military commanders.
