US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told senior military leaders to "prepare for war and prepare to win."
The Pentagon on September 30 summoned hundreds of generals from around the world to Quantico base in Virginia to discuss strengthening the US military. Speaking to the generals, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared: "From now on, the only mission of the War Department is: Fight!".
"(We must) prepare for war and prepare to win. Be resolute and uncompromising in those efforts. Not because we want war. Nobody here wants war, but because we love peace," Hegseth said, according to Newsweek.
According to Hegseth, the US military "must be strong so that we can prevent war in the first place." "The president (Donald Trump) always talks about it. It's called 'peace through strength.' History teaches us that the people who truly deserve peace are those who are willing to fight to protect it," Hegseth added.
According to Newsweek, in his speech at the meeting in Quantico, Hegseth also suggested that the US military improve its physical training and that he did not want to see "fat generals and admirals in the hallways of the Pentagon" or "fat soldiers in battle formations".
The Quantico meeting was the first time Hegseth had brought together a large group of generals since President Donald Trump ordered the renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
In his remarks at the event, President Trump described the United States as facing a “war from within” stemming from crime and immigration, warning that the military would be involved in crackdowns in many cities.
“We’re going to fix it one place at a time, and that’s going to be a big part of it for some people in this room. It’s a war too — a war from within,” President Trump said.
In addition, Mr. Trump said the White House is considering expanding the military so that it can recruit people who are physically and mentally qualified and weed out those who are not. He also announced a plan to spend $1 trillion on defense by 2026.
"The War Department will prevent war. The American armed forces will be second to none in the future. We are the American military - the best, the boldest, the bravest the world has ever seen. We will fight, fight, fight, and we will win, win, win," Mr. Trump said.