Hegseth Leans Into Culture War, Declares He Has Transformed the Military

VIRA Broadcasting — October 1, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a sharply partisan "State of the Force" address this week, leaning into culture-war flashpoints and announcing new initiatives on autonomous weapons, technological innovation, base construction and domestic production of essential military supplies, NPR reported Tuesday.

Speaking amid a U.S. war with Iran now in its seventh month, Hegseth blamed past generals and defense secretaries by name for weakening the military, according to NPR. He said the address would become an annual event. The event echoed a gathering last year where he delivered an unusually partisan speech to hundreds of generals and admirals, NPR noted — despite the military's foundational tradition of avoiding politics. The flag officers remained almost completely silent during this year's speech, according to NPR.

Hegseth also used the address to attack news coverage of the war. He took "considerable time" to rail against the media for reporting on troop morale and depleted munitions stocks, NPR reported. "A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they're undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It's sick. It's a national betrayal. It's treason, actually," he said, according to NPR.

The Pentagon has not held a news briefing since May, even as the Iran war continues and even with a handpicked press corps more sympathetic to the Trump administration, NPR reported.

On policy, Hegseth pledged to elevate the military's chaplains and called religious faith "the most essential component of our republic," according to NPR. He also named five new colleges that will pilot an enhanced relationship with the Pentagon to produce officer candidates — while criticizing elite academic institutions as anti-American, NPR reported.

In a separate move this week, Hegseth announced an end to civilian tenured positions at U.S. military academies, which a Pentagon press release said would "reform our educational institutions to ensure they remain laser-focused on lethality and readiness," NPR reported.

The address came the same week President Trump traveled to Oklahoma to campaign for Republican candidates, a day NPR also noted in its morning briefing. The speech underscores how the administration's cultural agenda and its war footing in the Middle East — with Brent crude topping $100 a barrel this week on stalled U.S.-Iran talks, according to market reporting — remain tightly intertwined.

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Sources: NPR (primary reporting, September 30, 2026); market context from Reuters/Bloomberg reporting on oil prices (October 1, 2026).