WASHINGTON: Before an unprecedented gathering of US generals from around the world, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth decried “stupid rules of engagement” on the battlefield and “fat troops” at home and leftist “woke” ideas, instead favouring a major shake-up to toughen up their troops.

“We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for war fighters,” he said.

Joining Hegseth was US President Donald Trump, who also delivered an address to the assembled admirals and generals in Quantico, Virginia that floated the idea of using deployments to US cities as “as training grounds for our military.”

Addressing an auditorium full of top brass who flew in from around the world, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, including a Black top US general and a woman who was the Navy’s top admiral, saying they were part of a broken culture.

Trump claims ‘seven planes’ shot down before he averted war between India, Pakistan

He promised sweeping changes to how the Pentagon handles discrimination complaints and investigates accusations of wrongdoing.

“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading, and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department.’ But not anymore,” he said.

He called for the strict application of grooming standards – which includes a one-year cap on shaving waivers that are disproportionately used by Black troops – as well as for having the current highest male fitness standard apply to all combat forces.

He specifically criticised the Pentagon inspector general — which launched an investigation into his use of civilian messaging app Signal for classified information this year — saying the office has been “weaponised” and will be overhauled.

Trump’s Pak-India claims

In his speech, President Trump repeated his claim of having averted a devastating war between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan; not with missiles, but with trade.

He described how he confronted both nations during an active war that saw seven aircraft shot down and tensions rapidly escalating between the two neighbours.

“India and Pakistan were going at it. I called them both, and in this case, I used trade. I won’t trade with you. Two big nuclear nations — big nuclear. Seven planes they shot down. It was starting. A lot of bad blood,” Mr Trump said.

“I said, ‘You do this, there won’t be any trade,’ and I stopped the war. It was raging for four days. That was just the beginning. And we stopped it. It was a great thing,” he added.

He also mentioned the recent visit of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with Field Marshal General Asim Munir. Mr Trump claimed that Gen Munir had said, “This man [Mr Trump] saved millions of lives because he stopped the war. That war was going to get very bad.”

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025