Hegseth made the remarks during a public speech on Thursday, while addressing military recruiters and praising them for what he described as “historic recruiting numbers.”
United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has stirred controversy after saying many young Americans are either “too fat or too stupid” to qualify for military service, blaming poor education, criminal records, and medical conditions such as ADHD for recruitment challenges.
Hegseth made the remarks during a public speech on Thursday, while addressing military recruiters and praising them for what he described as “historic recruiting numbers.”
“I know it’s not easy on the basic ingredients on recruiting, that we, you know, too many of our young people are too fat or too dumb. Not dumb, that’s wrong,” Hegseth said.
“You know, we’re just, we’re just not educating them properly, or they’ve got criminal records or ADHD, all these other things.”
He added that “there’s a lot of things contributing to what someone may or may not qualify to get into the military,” but commended recruiters for finding “the great Americans who want to serve” and signing them up “in record numbers.”
Hegseth said the renewed push for recruitment aligns with President Donald Trump’s priorities, noting that the president “pays very close attention” to recruitment figure.
“As the president has stated, and he pays very close attention to, these have been historic recruiting numbers. You guys have all delivered,” he said.
Reflecting on his own experience, Hegseth said he did not come from a military family and barely understood the differences between military branches as a teenager.
“I didn’t grow up in a military family. I didn’t know the difference between the Army and the Marine Corps when I was 18 years old. No idea,” he said, crediting recruiters and veterans for guiding him into the Army through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at Princeton University.
He argued that the military must return “to the basics” to make service more attractive, insisting that the armed forces should reject what he described as “social engineering stuff that looks like college campuses.”
“You’re signing up to join a warfighting entity, not a woke institution,” Hegseth said, stressing that the military is “a distinct entity with core values.”
According to him, those values include “accountability, discipline, meritocracy, standards, readiness, lethality.”
Hegseth also introduced what he called the “Department of War Golden Rule,” urging commanders to lead units as they would want their own children to be treated.
“Do onto your formation that which you would want done onto your son or daughter’s formation,” he said. “If your kid was in this unit, what would you do to make it more lethal, more prepared and ready?”
He criticised diversity quotas and appearance-based considerations, saying leaders should instead focus on getting “the best of the best equipped, trained and ready to go full stop.”
Hegseth further disclosed that recruitment figures serve as a key “feedback loop from the American people” for the president.
“Men and women willing to serve, put on the uniform is a reflection of the belief they have in civilian leadership and military leadership,” he said.
He also announced what he called a “warrior dividend,” a $1,776 payment to service members, describing it as “a meaningful reflection of the gratitude that we have for all of you.”
“1776 bucks is a nice little chunk of change,” he said, adding that it would be paid to about 1.45 million active-duty service members and reservists.
Hegseth ended his speech by thanking recruiters and their families, saying, “Just keep being the best of the best. We are so grateful. Merry Christmas to you all.”