‘We are done with that s—t’: Secretary Pete Hegseth declares war on DEI…and beards

“We became the woke department. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses…no more division, distraction, or gender delusions,” said the Secretary of War.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth railed against DEI and other military policies on Tuesday, telling the nation’s top generals and admirals that such policies go against the Trump administration’s “warrior ethos.”

“An entire generation of generals and admirals was told that they must parrot the insane fallacy that ‘Our diversity is our strength.’ …They had to put out dizzying DEI and LGBTQI+ statements,” said Hegseth. “We became the woke department. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction, or gender delusions…we are done with that s—t.”

Hegseth told any military general or admiral who disagreed with the Trump administration’s new stance on diversity to “do the honorable thing and resign.”

Though the newly renamed Department of War had already eliminated its DEI policies, Secretary Hegseth reiterated the department’s new standard of so-called “merit.” Hegseth ordered the military’s top leaders to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to deliver a pep rally-like talk to clarify the Trump administration’s new stances on transforming the U.S. armed forces.

“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now,” said Hegseth. “We must be prepared,” he added. “Either we’re ready to win or we are not.”

Secretary Hegseth announced that all military combat troops would have to meet the “highest male standard only” and reiterated the military’s new grooming policy that critics say is discriminatory against Black soldiers.

“No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression,” he added. “We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards.”

The military’s new grooming policy prohibiting beards reverses a decades-long waiver that allowed Black men with coarse or curly hair to electively wear their beards as a result of a skin condition. The waivers allowed Black service members to avoid the military’s requirement for men to be clean-shaven.

As the Grio previously reported, an updated guidance announced in May impacts Black service members who suffer from pseudofolliculitis, or PFB, a skin condition more commonly known as razor bumps or ingrown hairs. PFB disproportionately affects Black men (60%), according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. Despite allowing waivers since the 1970s, the new guidance states that the condition could lead to a service member being expelled from the military branch if the issue persists.