Members of the military attend a meeting convened by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Quantico, Virginia, U.S., September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
When President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke at a gathering of military generals on Tuesday, September 30, they heavily emphasized MAGA culture-war themes. Hegseth vowed to end "woke" policies in the military, replacing them with a "warrior ethos."
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, is highly critical of the speeches in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on October 3. And he warns that the military's credibility will suffer if it is perceived as a tool of the MAGA movement's "political theater."
"After Tuesday's meeting," Herling explains, "(officers) will want to know what things they will have to change, if their country still believes in them, if the oath they swore still anchors their service, if the mission they're preparing for or executing still has clarity and legitimacy. That will be the challenge for commanders around the globe, this week and into the future. While the nation's news media has already largely moved on — shifting back to covering the government shutdown, ICE raids, and the elections coming up next month and next year — the shockwaves of the Quantico gathering are only now beginning to reverberate through bases in Europe, the Pacific, the Middle East, and beyond."
Hertling stresses that although military commanders "can't contradict lawful orders," they "also can't allow cynicism and despair to fester."
"They must find a way to reinforce trust in the chain of command while preparing their staffs to quietly sort out what is implementable, legal, and wise," Hertling writes. "I guarantee the staff officers were already at work, even before their commanders returned to their base. In every headquarters touched by this week's spectacle, operations sections were conducting mission analysis, preparing contingencies plans, waiting for their commander's guidance to provide more clarity. Legal officers were parsing the precise language of Hegseth's directives. Planners are sketching out courses of action — some of which they hope never see daylight. That's what the military does."
Hertling warns that politicizing the military will be terrible for soldiers' morale.
"When Washington speaks, commanders must answer," the retired general emphasizes. "But let's not forget: Those commanders need a foundation of lawful, principled leadership to stand on, so they can answer the questions of individuals wearing their country’s uniform. Without all of that, we risk turning the world's most trusted military into just another instrument of political theater. And that is a risk we cannot afford."
Mark Herling's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.