Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a speech on the status of the military today, during which he announced six new initiatives for the War Department.
Speaking to both a broadcast audience and 600 O-3 officers and E-6 enlisted service members at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Hegseth began by recounting the successful progress he has seen across the department over the past year.
“For almost two years, you’ve heard me talk — over and over — about three core priorities: reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence. And I’m proud to stand on this stage and report that the warrior ethos has been revived, our military is being rebuilt and American deterrence is back,” he said early in his remarks.
The secretary went on to emphasize the high recruitment and retention numbers over the past year, mention that military standards that existed in 1990 are back in 2026 and discuss the “E-6/O-3 Rule” — the concept that asks whether a policy, procedure or decision helps or hinders the operational effectiveness and daily reality of an E-6 and/or O-3.
“We fight to win. Clear missions, full hearts, hands untied. It’s all I ever wanted as a platoon leader, and it’s all my E-6 squad leaders ever wanted. … We let our leaders fight their formations, and then we have their back. It’s simple, yet you know in your business it’s incredibly powerful and liberating,” Hegseth said.
After recapping the past year and reemphasizing the War Department’s priorities of strengthening the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and maintaining peace through strength via deterrence, Hegseth outlined his six new initiatives:
- The creation of a new 4-star level combatant command: Autonomous Warfare Command.
- An effort to study the future of warfare titled “Project Meridian.”
- A future program that aims to align basing and infrastructure projects to ensure they are collectively advancing toward greater independence titled, federal operations for resilience, troop resources, energy, supply and survivability, or “Fortress America.”
- Calling for a new, state-of-the-art military installation through a project titled, “The Next Great American Base.”
- Expanding the ranks of future leaders commissioning into the joint force through a program that expands military training beyond the country’s military service academies and six military colleges to additional institutions of higher learning, titled “America’s Corps of Cadets.”
- Establishing an Office of Religious Affairs.
Regarding the new combatant command, Autowarcom, Hegseth said that once established, it will focus on building autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in “the fastest peacetime shift in modern history.”
Additionally, the secretary announced that he has directed the direct reporting portfolio manager for unmanned systems to lead “Project Agincourt,” an organization that will establish the pathway for Autowarcom, as well as to execute the existing unmanned systems mission while prototyping a new acquisition model.
Hegseth also said new military occupational specialties will be created in each military department to support the shift to autonomy.
“Today, with … Autowarcom, we institutionalize — and we supercharge — the era of [super intelligence], robotics and autonomous systems, all in order to win,” he said.
Turning next to Project Meridian, Hegseth said the Pentagon’s chief technology officer would partner with members of the private sector to study the future of warfare, and that the project is not about developing new strategies or policies.
“Rather, its purpose is to creatively look into the future and identify the domains we must conquer, and capabilities we must master … to achieve technological and military dominance on the battlefield for decades to come; it is futuristic, on purpose,” Hegseth said.
Regarding the Fortress America program, Hegseth said it calls for every American military installation to eventually run under its own power, hardening every installation on American soil against intrusion and bringing critical supply chains home.
“No matter the circumstance, this department will have the power, the equipment and the supplies you need to take the fight to the enemy.?… The Department of War will be the insurance policy for the entire nation,” he said.
Hegseth’s talk of Fortress America then segued into discussing the concept behind The Next Great American Base project, which he said will be a dynamic, self-sustaining power projection platform, and that leaders of every state in the union would be able to provide a “sales pitch” as to why the new installation should be in their state.
“If your state wants the honor of hosting 15,000 to 25,000 of America’s great troops, show us why and how you’re going to do it — cutting through the red tape, offering up the land and rolling out the red carpet for our military families,” Hegseth said.
Regarding America’s Corps of Cadets, the secretary said the Pentagon is partnering with six universities to increase the number of leaders who can commission into the military.
“By embedding continuous military discipline and leadership development into new institutions — by growing our Corps of Cadets — the War Department will ensure our republic is defended by even more officers of unwavering character and patriotism,” Hegseth said.
Turning to his final of the six initiatives, that of the Office of Religious Affairs, Hegseth said religious services in the military have been neglected and bureaucratized for too long.
“Ninety-five percent of our force recognizes an Almighty God. Accordingly, our department has a sacred duty: first-class religious support, wherever we send our warriors,” Hegseth said. He also noted that the new office will report directly to the secretary of war’s office to cut through red tape.
“This is not going to be a paper-pushing shop;?it’s going to have real teeth.?It’ll protect budgets, demand infrastructure and strengthen religious support,” Hegseth said.
The secretary emphasized that the six announcements were all for the warfighters, as he and the War Department view them as the top 1% of society.
“You are warriors; with that title comes great expectations. So, go forth this day and do good things, hard things. President [Donald J.] Trump has your back, and so do I,” Hegseth said.
“We are the War Department, and we never back down — Godspeed,” he concluded.
Today’s State of the Force speech came exactly one year to the day since Hegseth announced a series of new directives aimed at strengthening the War Department’s people and culture to the U.S. military’s most senior leaders, also at Quantico.
By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News