05 May 25. Even before arriving at the Pentagon, Jan. 27, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made clear his vision for reshaping the U.S. military. Just a day after being confirmed by the Senate, the new secretary released a message to the force outlining his plans. Charged by President Donald J. Trump to deliver “peace through strength,” Hegseth said he’d accomplish that by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence. Over the last 100 days, the Defense Department, under Hegseth’s direction, has engaged in a dizzying number of engagements, visits and policy changes to build a military capable of deterring conflict, defending the nation and, if needed, fighting and winning wars.
At the top of Hegseth’s message to the force was a promise to restore the warrior ethos and trust in the military.
“We are American warriors,” he wrote. “We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.”
In mid-March, Hegseth ordered a rapid force-wide review of military standards related to physical fitness, body composition and grooming.
“High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet,” Hegseth said. “We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising and clear standards.”
The secretary directed the military departments to compile their current standards and evaluate how they had changed over the last decade, including their impact.
“We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force,” Hegseth said. “This review will illuminate how the department has maintained the level of standards required over the recent past and the trajectory of any change in those standards.”
The department also instructed the military services to identify combat arms and noncombat arms occupations and develop mission-focused, sex-neutral physical fitness standards for combat roles.
“As the nature of warfare evolves and the demands on our service members grow more complex, it is imperative that we assess and refine the physical fitness standards that enable our readiness and lethality,” Hegseth said. “All entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms positions must be sex-neutral, based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary.”
Restoring Trust in the Force
To build trust, the department addressed the effects of the since-rescinded 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate, following direction from the president.
Over 500 days, nearly 8,000 active-duty and reserve service members were involuntarily separated for refusing to meet the mandate while others voluntarily left.
Under Hegseth, those troops are being invited back to service.
“We’re doing everything we can, as quickly as we can, to reinstate those who were affected by that policy,” Hegseth said. “We want anyone impacted by that vaccine mandate back into the military — people of conscience, warriors of conscience — back in our formations.”
Some previously discharged service members will be offered back pay and reinstated rank. The department will also remove adverse actions taken solely due to vaccine refusal.
Hegseth also announced a shift away from what he called divisive initiatives, such as official commemorations of immutable characteristics. Instead, he urged a renewed focus on shared values.
“Installations, units and offices are encouraged to celebrate the valor and success of military heroes of all races, genders and backgrounds as we restore our warrior culture and ethos,” he said. “We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics.
To support this, the secretary established the “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” task force, aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies and replacing them with merit-based, colorblind initiatives. Led by Jules W. Hurst III, performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, the task force began visiting installations and service academies in February.
“This is about the Department of Defense getting back to merit-based, colorblind policies,” Hurst said. “Our responsibility is to make sure that we take the best people and put them in positions of responsibility to lead America’s sons and daughters.
Recruitment and Retention Surge
The changes have also impacted recruitment and retention. In February 2025, all five military services met their recruiting goals — which were higher than a year ago — and four exceeded them beyond 2024 performance.
During an April 30, 2025, Cabinet meeting, Hegseth described the growth as a “recruiting renaissance.”
“It’s been decades since we’ve seen this kind of recruiting in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Air Force,” he said. “We can barely absorb the volume and retention — men and women in the military don’t want to get out.”
Among the notable returnees was 2009 Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, who rejoined the Marine Corps Reserve in April after being out of the military for 15 years. Hegseth personally administered Meyer’s oath of enlistment.
“[We’re doing] this as big as we can because I want the American people, I want your fellow Marines [and] I want other service members to look at [your] example and [know] you’re never too old, you’re never too experienced [and] you’ve never done too much to contribute; and I salute you,” Hegseth told Meyer.
Strengthening Alliances and Strategic Posture
Since January, Hegseth has worked to establish deterrence by engaging more than a dozen international counterparts, reaffirming U.S. alliances and setting new expectations.
Shortly after taking office, he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and authorized the release of 2,000-pound bombs — previously withheld — to Israel. The two met in person 10 days later at the Pentagon.
In the following weeks, Hegseth held bilateral meetings with defense leaders from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, El Salvador and France.
During a February visit to Brussels, the secretary reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to NATO while encouraging European allies to shoulder more of their defense.
In Belgium, Hegseth said NATO’s European partners should take primary responsibility for the defense of the continent, which means security ownership by all allies, guided by an understanding of the strategic realities.
“Our expectation of our friends — and we say this in solidarity — is you have to spend more on your defense,” he said, adding that the American military and the American people stand beside them as it has with NATO.
Following joint encouragement from Hegseth and Trump, the United Kingdom announced the most significant increase in U.K. defense spending since the end of the Cold War. Also in February, the U.K., not the U.S., led the Ukraine Defense Contact Group for the first time — part of a broader shift toward European defense ownership.
In April, Hegseth traveled to Panama to expand cooperation on canal security. The U.S. and Panama agreed to bolster training and grant “first and free” military canal passage to U.S. forces. The two nations also discussed expanding their existing partnership to secure the Panama Canal in order to counter China’s influence in the region.
“[China’s] growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand,” Hegseth said. “The Panama Canal is key terrain that must be secured by Panama, with America, and not China.”
Efficiency and Reform
The secretary also promised to reform how the department is organized and how it spends taxpayer dollars. The Department of Government Efficiency was a big part of that early on, and it found nearly $6 billion in potential savings for reinvestment within DOD.
In early March, DOGE found $80 million wasted on non-core programs, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and climate studies. Later in the month, Hegseth terminated $580 million in unnecessary contracts. In April, he ordered another $5.1 billion in cuts from consulting and information technology services.
“We need this money to spend on better health care for our warfighters and their families, instead of $500 an hour business process consultant,” Hegseth said. “That’s a lot of consulting.”
Operations at Home and Abroad
The department’s mission to protect the nation continues, with visible efforts on the southern border and in the Middle East. Since January, about 11,900 service members have been assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border. In March, a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion were sent to support border security operations. By April 18, 2025, the Army took jurisdiction over 109,651 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border, designating it the New Mexico National Defense Area, part of Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Military personnel now have expanded authority, including the ability to detain trespassers until law enforcement arrives. Border crossings are down 99.99% compared to four years ago.
“For too long, our southern border was poorly equipped and understaffed, and our warfighters were restricted from doing their jobs,” Hegseth said. “We will secure our southern border and have 100% operational control.”
In the Middle East, U.S. troops are protecting American and global-shared interests with Operation Rough Rider to degrade the capabilities of the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group.
In March, the department announced it had conducted a series of precision strikes in Yemen in response to ongoing Houthi attacks on U.S. military and commercial shipping vessels in the region. Operations have since escalated, with DOD increasing its military presence in the Middle East and deploying of additional air assets and the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, augmenting existing fighter aircraft and the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.
Since then, strikes by U.S. Central Command have hit over 1,000 targets — killing Houthi fighters and leaders, as well as destroying underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter — degrading their capabilities.
“Freedom of navigation is basic; it’s a core national interest,” Hegseth said. “The minute the Houthis say, ‘We’ll stop shooting at your ships we’ll stop shooting at your drones,’ this campaign will end, but until then, it will be unrelenting.”
When he was sworn in nearly four months ago, Hegseth said his new role as the 29th defense secretary would be “the most important deployment” of his life. He set goals of restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence. The Minnesota native has been on the job for 100 days and has made progress in each of the areas outlined in his initial message to the force.
“When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,” Hegseth said during his Jan. 14, 2025, confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness.”