More than 120 retired U.S. generals and admirals put their name to a letter Monday expressing “strong support” for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army veteran Pete Hegseth.
The letter – as first reported by the Daily Wire – comes in the wake of Hegseth being publicly excoriated by his critics for the nomination and his expressed determination to serve in the role.
The signees were unequivocal in their support, writing in part:
He understands combat from the grass roots level and will take that much needed perspective with him as the next SECDEF. He has studied and experienced the disastrous effects Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has on our military and he is committed to expunging it from our armed forces. His focus is solely on warfighting readiness so that our military is prepared to fulfill its mission—to fight and win our Nation’s wars.
The retired generals and admirals pointed to Hegseth’s very public passion for the military and his record in Iraq and Afghanistan. Together they argued he was the “warrior” the U.S. needed to lead its military.
They noted Trump selected Hegseth from a list of other talented and qualified individuals because of his willingness to fight on.
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His supporters believe Hegseth would make good on his long-held stance of “depoliticizing” the military and his rebuttals of “DEI”-type policies and other “toxic ideologies” critics claim have been foisted upon troops in recent years. They continued:
President Trump has the right and responsibility to select key people who are capable of fulfilling his promises to the American people. Prominent in that mandate was making our military strong and lethal, to include removing what is called “wokeness” in the form of (DEI) from our armed forces.
Hegseth has at all times vigorously denied the allegations made against him by detractors.
He remains committed to the Senate confirmation process despite warnings from some GOP senators that more battles lie ahead.
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