In a speech delivered to military recruiters today, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth commended their efforts in achieving historic recruitment numbers while addressing ongoing challenges in enlisting qualified young Americans. Hegseth highlighted factors such as obesity, inadequate education, criminal records, and medical conditions like ADHD as barriers to military service.
During his remarks, Secretary Hegseth stated, “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... 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 emphasized that these issues reflect broader societal problems rather than inherent flaws in the youth themselves.
Hegseth praised the recruiters for their dedication, noting, “As the president has stated, and he pays very close attention to, these have been historic recruiting numbers. You guys have all delivered.”
He aligned the military's focus with President Donald Trump’s priorities, stressing that the armed forces are a “warfighting entity, not a woke institution,” with core values including accountability, discipline, meritocracy, standards, readiness, and lethality.
The Secretary also introduced a new “warrior dividend” initiative, providing a one-time payment of $1,776 to approximately 1.45 million active-duty service members and reservists as a token of appreciation for their service.
Reflecting on his own path, Hegseth shared that he did not come from a military family and credited recruiters for guiding him into the Army through ROTC at Princeton University. He urged recruiters to prioritize lethality and preparedness, rejecting “social engineering stuff that looks like college campuses” in favor of equipping “the best of the best.”
The speech concluded with Hegseth expressing gratitude to the recruiters and their families, wishing them a “Merry Christmas.” The Department of Defense remains committed to strengthening recruitment strategies to ensure a robust and capable military force.