Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Initiates 'Woke Review' of Military Colleges During Iran Conflict
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a comprehensive review of U.S. military colleges to determine whether their educational focus has become "too woke," even as the war in Iran continues to escalate dramatically. The announcement came during a period of heightened military operations and intense public scrutiny of the administration's foreign policy.
Special Task Force to Evaluate Senior Service Colleges
The review will be conducted by a special task force that will examine senior service colleges including the Army War College, National Defense University, and Marine Corps University. According to Hegseth, the task force has been given 90 days to produce a report evaluating whether these institutions remain "actually effective and... focused on core national security issues."
"It's my job to make sure those who are rising to the highest of ranks are as prepared as humanly possible," Hegseth declared in a social media video posted Thursday night. "And if we're pulling officers out of civilian universities because they're too woke, then we better make sure our own universities are prepared to do the task properly."
Curriculum Focus on National Security and Warrior Ethos
War colleges provide advanced military education to senior officers and Pentagon civilians, traditionally focusing on strategy, joint operations, and national security policies. Hegseth emphasized that the review would seek to eliminate any curriculum elements not aligned with these core topics.
"We want military leaders who are critical thinkers that have studied the principles on which our founding fathers established this republic," Hegseth stated. "They're educated and prepared to win wars after the wokeness and weakness of Joe Biden's administration. Our war fighters deserve training with integrity where the focus is on the warrior ethos, on deterrence and on strength."
Hegseth's Fiery Press Conference and Iran War Rhetoric
The announcement of the military college review came shortly before a contentious Friday morning press conference where Hegseth became visibly angered while discussing media coverage of the Iran conflict. He urged what he called a "patriotic press" to rewrite headlines about what he described as the administration's "deadly and costly war."
During the same briefing, Hegseth escalated his rhetoric against Iran's leadership, comparing them to "rats" in hiding. "The U.S. is decimating the radical Iranian regime's military in a way the world has never seen before," he boasted. "We said it would not be a fair fight, and it has not been."
Iran Conflict Statistics and Military Assessment
Hegseth provided specific details about the military campaign, revealing that more than 15,000 Iranian targets have been struck, effectively obliterating the nation's air defenses, air force, and navy. He claimed Iran's missile capabilities have plummeted by 90 percent since operations began.
The Defense Secretary warned that Friday, marking the 14th day of military operations, would see the most intense U.S. strikes on Iran to date. "Iran's leadership is in no better shape. Desperate and hiding, they've gone underground, cowering. That's what rats do," Hegseth declared.
He further described Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the "so-called not-so-supreme leader" who is reportedly "wounded and likely disfigured." The conflict has already resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and has significantly destabilized the broader Middle East region.
The simultaneous announcement of the military college review and escalation of war rhetoric highlights the administration's dual focus on both domestic military education reform and aggressive foreign policy implementation during a period of international conflict.
