CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (CBS 21/WHP) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke in Carlisle Wednesday morning amid ongoing controversy regarding the official's use of the Signal app and the sharing of sensitive information, saying the United States is entering a "golden age of America and national defense".
In a speech to Central Pennsylvanians, he said we're "leaving wokeness and weakness behind" to focus on "accountability."
Under the leadership of Trump, the message to our adversaries in these first 100 days has been undeniably clear. America is back. At the defense department, that means no more social engineering, climate change worship, electric tanks, no more excuses, pronouns, or wokenesswe’re focused on our mission of warfighting.
Hegseth visited the Carlisle Barracks in Cumberland County around 9:30 a.m., where he spoke with U.S. Army War College students, families, faculty, and staff, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
He said he would assemble a commission to review military standards and be "the world's most lethal, effective force if [we] have to."
RECRUITMENT AND RETAINMENT
Hegseth also said the Department of Defense will be welcoming back more than 8,700 service members who were wrongfully forced out for not taking an "experimental vaccine," referring to the COVID-19 shot.
"We want them back," said Hegseth. "They never should have been forced out."
He also highlighted performance-based promotions and analyzing the civilian workforce for retainment.
"The media likes to call it chaos, we call it overdue," he said. "It's going better than ever expected. This department is full with patriots who want to be laser-focused on serving their country."
Hegseth cited challenges trying recruiting people to join the military forces, calling it a "crisis."
He said since recent changes under the Trump administration, the Army has had its best recruiting numbers since 2010, and the Navy, the best since 2002.
Hegseth added he's trying to make the military "more efficient" by shifting out old priorities and focusing on what's needed now and in the future. He claims he's also making it a priority by knowing what works and cutting what does not.
IMMIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
"You should see our troops defending their homeland," said Hegseth.
He said instead of looking at the border with binoculars, they can take temporary action to detain people and hand them over because of the "authorized zone".
America first doesn’t mean America alone, it means we expect our allies to step up, achieving peace through strength.
Hegseth said the Department of Defense has struck dozens of targets and "decimated" Houthi leadership under Trump, defending America’s "interests and restoring freedom of navigation".
"We will run our ships and the message to the Houthis clear. Allow our ships and we’ll stop shooting at you," he said. "Any aggression against Americans will be met."
Hegseth a main focus under Trump's leadership has been deterring "communist China" in the Indo-Pacific and around the world while supporting allies and partners, including in Taiwan.
"The president pledged to take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence and we’re doing that," he said. "They want to be with us but they need to see us. They need to see leadership, not just in words but in deeds and action."
HEGSETH UNDER SCRUTINY
The defense secretary has recently come under fire after he was accused of sharing details of a U.S. military attack with his wife and brother in a second Signal chat, separate from the chat in which Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic said he was included.
READ MORE |Hegseth sent his wife and brother Yemen airstrike plans on Signal: report
President Trump has stood behind Hegseth, who on Monday, blamed the media and "disgruntled former employees" for the reports.
Three of Hegseth's former security advisers who were ousted this past week said in a group statement their character has been "slandered" by Pentagon officials, and on Monday, Politico reported that a Republican member of the House of Representatives' Armed Services committee voiced his support in firing the defense secretary.
READ MORE |GOP Armed Services committee member supports firing Hegseth, Politico reports