Will Chicago become a training ground for the U.S. military?

Will Chicago become a training ground for the US military?

by Marcel Kunzmann

[This article posted on 10/1/2025 is translated from the German on the Internet, http://www.nachdenkseiten.de.]


Pete Hegseth heads the agency recently renamed the Department of War

US Secretary of War Hegseth announces the end of all equality programs. Trump proposes using cities as training grounds. Military responds with silence.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the end of all equality and anti-discrimination programs in the military in front of assembled generals and admirals.

At an extraordinary gathering of high-ranking military leaders at Quantico Base in Virginia on Tuesday, Hegseth declared that the armed forces had degenerated into a “woke ministry” under his predecessor.

President Donald Trump followed Hegseth's speech with an appearance lasting over an hour, in which he proposed using US cities as training grounds for the military. “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” Trump said, announcing an imminent deployment in Chicago, whose governor he described as “incompetent.”

### Dismissals and new standards

Hegseth defended his dismissal of several flag officers, including the African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown and the top female admiral in the Navy. “It is nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create that culture or benefited from it,” Hegseth explained to the silent audience.

The defense secretary announced that all fitness tests would henceforth be evaluated according to male standards only. Permission to wear a beard would be largely revoked, with the exception of special forces.

“The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beards,” Hegseth told the expressionless officers sitting in front of him. He was particularly critical of overweight military leaders: “It is completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the corridors of the Pentagon,” Hegseth said.

### The military as a political tool

Trump used his appearance to sharply criticize his predecessor Joe Biden and the media. “If you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room,” he joked in front of the military leaders. “Of course, then your rank and your future are gone.”

The president described the US as “under invasion from within” by illegal immigrants, justifying military operations at home. “America is under attack from within, no different than from a foreign enemy, but in many ways more difficult because they don't wear uniforms,” Trump said.

Trump had already ordered the deployment of the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, over the weekend. He had previously sent Guard and active Navy units to Los Angeles, despite protests from local authorities.

### Criticism from Democrats

Senator Jack Reed, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, strongly condemned the event. “It signals that party loyalty is more important than skill, judgment, or service to the Constitution,” Reed said.

This undermines the principle of a professional, nonpartisan military. Illinois Governor Pritzker reacted with outrage to Trump's remarks: “Anyone who talks about their fellow Americans as enemies who need to be ‘taken down’ is not fit to lead the nation,” Pritzker wrote on Platform X.

### New war doctrine

Hegseth announced a review of the rules of engagement to “unleash the hands of our warfighters.” Training officers should once again be allowed to swear and conduct so-called “shark attack” training, in which recruits are yelled at by several instructors at the same time.

Among Hegseth's first acts in office was the dismissal or transfer of many military lawyers who advise commanders on the legality of operations. He then appointed his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, as Marine commander to oversee changes to legal advice.

Gathering all flag officers in one place is largely unprecedented.

Hegseth had summoned military leaders from around the world at short notice just last week, shortly before a possible government shutdown. The cost of the event remained unclear.

Just a few weeks ago, the Trump administration initiated the renaming of the Pentagon to the “War Department” (Telepolis reported).