A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump told his top military commanders that the U.S. military would be used against what he calls the enemy within, pointing to Democratic-run cities that he has long said have high crime rates.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke at the unusual gathering in Quantico, Virginia. And he reiterated to the generals that the purpose of the department would exclusively be, quote, "war fighting."
MARTÍNEZ: Joining us now to talk about all this is NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Tom, before we get to the president, what stood out to you about Hegseth's remarks?
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Well, you know, what he said about toughening physical fitness standards for those in combat jobs. So we're talking armor, artillery and infantry. You know, he said he wants both men and women to achieve, quote, "the highest male standard" in such things as lifting weights, carrying an ammo box, running. So there are some 600 female Marines in those jobs in the Army, 3,000 or 4,000 women in combat positions. And I'm told you could lose more than 20% of those women in those jobs if they have to meet the highest male standard. Now, Hegseth said that wasn't the goal. Let's listen.
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PETE HEGSETH: If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result. So be it.
BOWMAN: Hegseth also said it may mean weak men don't qualify.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So Hegseth has long criticized what he calls the Pentagon's woke culture. What did he have to say about it yesterday?
BOWMAN: Right. He said the Pentagon was the department of woke, and now it's the Department of War. He said he's ending the war on warriors and saying that some were promoted for their race or gender. Of course, he fired the Joint Chiefs chairman, General CQ Brown - the second African American to hold that job - indicating that he got the job not on merit, even though Brown was a key figure in the defeat of the Islamic State. You know, Hegseth also thinks, overall, the military has not been tough enough - too many lawyers second-guessing troops on rules of engagement in war or bullying or hazing of troops. He also wants drill sergeants to be much more tough on recruits.
MARTÍNEZ: You know, the president has defended the use of U.S. troops in American city. He specifically mentioned Democratic-led cities such as Chicago, describing it as overrun with crime. NPR reporting, though, shows that crime is falling there and also in many other cities. So what exactly did he say about the use of the military domestically?
BOWMAN: Well, Trump said the U.S. should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, saying mostly Democrat-run cities have crime rates. As you mentioned, the crime rates have been dropping. Now, Trump's comments were denounced by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a top Democrat on Armed Services and an Army veteran. He called it dangerous - he said, treating our own communities as war zones and our own citizens as enemies.
MARTÍNEZ: Tom, you've spent some two decades embedding with U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. What's your reaction to Trump and Hegseth talking about a, quote, "woke" military?
BOWMAN: Well, it's kind of a caricature. People I spent time with in combat zones - they say, we've always had a warrior ethos. And it's important to note, A, that women have received medals for valor, and more than a hundred and fifty women pass the grueling Army Ranger course at the same standards as men. Hegseth has neither a valor medal nor a Ranger tab.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Tom Bowman. Tom, as always, thanks.
BOWMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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