Pete Hegseth’s latest book, “The War on Warriors,” was a passion project for the Fox News host who says the Army he joined two decades ago has been plagued with woke ideology that could put Americans in danger.
“My time in uniform defined the better part of my adult life. It shaped me more than anything else. It’s something I love, a brotherhood that will always be central to who I am. And so, the book ‘The War on Warriors,’ the title was meant to say, ‘Hey, these warriors, there’s a war on them, and it’s not just what they’re facing on the battlefield, it’s from within,’” Hegseth told Fox News Digital.
“The subtitle is ‘Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,’ because this is not just a simple book of, ‘Oh, the military went woke,’” he continued. “It’s more a book about, ‘How did the military allow itself to be manipulated into going woke?’”
The War on Warriors,” which is available for preorder now, aims to uncover the deep roots of dysfunction throughout the military.
Hegseth feels diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, gender quotas and other standards pushed on the military by the left are adding layers that eliminate meritocracy.
“You can play all your games and push all your initiatives, but when the bullets start flying, who are you going to call? It’s all those, mostly, men who are raised in faith-filled, patriotic families, regardless of their racial background, who understand something greater than themselves and want to sign up to be a part of that because they love duty and honor and country,” he said.
“If this continues in our military… not only will we be less safe, but we’re gonna get people killed. We’re going to get members of the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy… killed because they’re less prepared, less focused and their units are less cohesive, they’re less well-trained, they’re standards are lower,” Hegseth continued.
“The social justice priorities of this administration, and previous, have distracted our institutions.”
Hegseth announced the latest title from Fox News Books Saturday on “FOX & Friends Weekend.” It’s Hegseth’s fifth book, as he previously penned New York Times bestsellers “In the Arena,” “American Crusade,” “Modern Warriors,” and “Battle for the American Mind.” Despite the success, the Army veteran scoffed when asked if he should be identified as an author going forward.
“It’s that’s not really why I do this… I write about things I’m genuinely passionate about,” Hegseth said. “It’s personal, so if you want to if we want to add ‘author’ to the title, that’s great. But certainly, Christian, father, patriot, that all come first and then the rest of it’s all just a bonus.”
It’s certainly personal, and Hegseth says the military he joined 20 years ago is vastly different from the one he sees today.
“The one I joined was focused on one thing — lethality. Unity of effort. Meritocracy. Are you good at your job? Train you to be the best warfighter we’ve got, and then send you with what you need to accomplish the mission,” he said.
“The military we have now has a whole bunch of layers in between that meritocracy and the lethality that tell our troops, ‘You know what your real strength is? Your real strength is diversity,’” Hegseth added.
The Army veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay who earned two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his time overseas said he served with guys who were “Black, White, straight and probably gay,” but it was never about any of that stuff.
“It was only about Army green and the mission that we had,” Hegseth said, noting that changes have come directly from the Pentagon, largely during the Obama and Biden administrations.
“Progressives, regressive, whatever you want to call them, couldn’t tolerate a gigantic meritocracy in the middle of their attempt for control.”
He believes commanders have changed their focus, and dozens of people currently serving across all branches, with various levels of responsibility, have told him that priorities are out of whack.
“Civilians have rammed it down the throats of our generals, and the generals are doing the bidding because they know if they want to get promoted, they’ve got to follow the social engineering prerogatives of the White House or who’s in charge.
Otherwise, they don’t get promoted, and they get fired, and they don’t get the fancy jobs out in the defense sector afterwards.
And so, they go along to get along, even though they know the things they’re pushing don’t make their units better,” Hegseth said.
The cover of “The War on Warriors” features an upside combat-style American flag, which is the universal sign of distress. It also features Hegseth’s name patch from an actual uniform he wore overseas. He feels the imagery will make it clear that “things are not OK” in the modern military.
The book also tells the story of when Hegseth was called an “extremist” by the Army that he fought for and features a letter to his sons, laying out his views on whether he would like them to serve.
“I joined the Army to fight extremists. And then I was called one. And the hope is that readers will immediately be engaged by the personal story of what happened to me. And there are some stories in there of combat missions I was on, just to kind of reiterate the taste and smell and feel of combat… We’re not talking about a corporate job here,” Hegseth said.
“We’re talking about life and death. And so, this subject is about what I learned, what I saw, how it’s been corrupted.”
“And I’ve always thought there’s nothing I would love more than my kids to wear camouflage and serve their country, and I’ve got a giant question in my head about whether I want that. And I know I’m not the only one,” he continued.
“This book isn’t just for vets and military folks, it’s for military families, it’s for patriots, it’s for parents and grandparents who love what this country has represented and want to understand how it went sideways.”
“The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free” is available for preorder now and hits stores June 4.
What People Are Saying
Comments from the article:
“My son, a Navy Seal, would agree 1,000x with what Pete Hegseth has to say. Also have multiple other family members who are active duty and getting out. None of them signed up for a woke military. And they wonder why recruiting numbers are down!”
“I didn’t want my son to join, but I didn’t stop him. I am thankful that his 5 years in the 82nd Airborne ended with him honorably discharged after he decided he didn’t to play the woke military games anymore. Hegseth has it exactly right except he fails to call these so called generals that “go along to get along” exactly what they are…gutless cowards who don’t deserve to wear the uniform.”
“Pete Hegseth has it right. I personally listened to a veteran who was an Admiral that spoke first hand about how “woke” policies got rammed down Generals’ throats by civilians in high elected office positions. Such terrible policies not based purely on meritocracy have significantly weakened the morale and effectiveness of our fighting forces. And this is seriously a dangerous condition considering how many enemies the U.S. has these days. I too am a veteran (USAF) and I’m very disappointed and disgusted by what’s happened to our military with these horrible “woke” policies.”
“I served 82-90 with four years at the WH manning the military communications for Reagan & Bush. My family and ancestors have been performing military service back to the Revolution. Told my kids to forget military service as those now leading will disrespect you and treat you like pawns.”
“I live near our largest Naval Station. Navy veteran. I also UBER. What I’m hearing is VERY disturbing. There’s way too many 2nd enlistment people that are getting out. E-5’s are our working backbone and hands on teachers and we are losing them ! They are absolutely disgusted by new recruits that have ZERO initiative and discipline. The Coast Guard has parked 10 Cutters and closed 29 stations that they cannot staff. We are beyond in trouble.”
“There will be a day in the very near future when this nation will regret that we have done to our military.”
“Reminds me of Jack Nicholson’s diatribe in ‘A Few Good Men’ that ‘You can’t handle the truth’ . It was quite a master piece. We will doubtless be reminded of it in the future when the latest military intakes run away from harm’s way rather than towards it or are just wiped out a far better trained and selected force. I expect that the Roman army when through a woke phase just before the Empire failed.”
“I served for 28 years, and he’s right. It started with Clinton’s “don’t ask” policy. I noticed a declining morale whenever a democrat president took over. Those policies do make it down to the lower ranks. The Generals (and other officers) acted like politicians.”
“Worked over 30 years for the military. Saw this deterioration starting around 2010. Glad I retired shortly thereafter. Obama is the cause. It all started with him. Interns were rewarded with not working. DoD hired mostly minorities who had no intention of doing the training or the work. No punishment. No bad appraisals. When he sent $150 billion to Iran, I said goodbye. ”
“The military twenty years ago was well on its way to wokeville. The woke garbage started when Clinton took office. I was there.”
“As a retired Air Force veteran, I’m astounded by the lack of enforcement when it comes to dress and appearance at the local air base. Apparently, being overweight is the new norm along with pony tails, cheesy mustaches, fad haircuts and full beards. I believe supervisors are afraid to say anything so they look the other way. Commanders should be ashamed!”
“And now it has come to JROTC–About 45% of USAF JROTC units are on probation for not making 10% of student population or 100 cadets whichever is less. Have the option to not wear a uniform once a week–now can wear a polo and have any length hair you want. And the new pay scale is out–no impact of how much time you served, can now have as little as 10 years and make the same as someone who did 25. BUT, they are implementing a 15% pay cut for folks that have been doing it for awhile. Most of us won’t take the pay cut and will be replaced by those who have never been above the unit level. Glad my kids are serving but I’m sorry I couldn’t give them the Air Force that I knew.”
“I joined the US Navy in 1978 with the intent of making a career of it. Four years later, I declined to re-enlist. The reason that I did so was because they started allowing women to be posted on Navy combat ships. I felt then that by doing so there would be compromises made that would create a division between men and women from the standpoint of performance requirements as well as dissipate cohesion of the units and distractions from the tasks to perform while on duty. There are many examples that can be found which supports my assertion that I was right. Just looking for the rate of sexual harassment claims and pregnancies on ships will support my assertion. A woke military is even worse.”
“My good Friend was Navy on the USS Yellowstone, aka ‘The Love Boat’ as so many female sailors came back from deployment very pregnant.”
“Then you will remember the time the Navy allowed women as an experiment on a carrier (don’t remember the ship) I was at NAS Miramar at the time, on a first deployment, and when the wives got hold of the story, they were angry, but the DOD didn’t listen to them, after a 9-month deployment some of the females came back pregnant, And I kid you not, there was a news story about it and when asked the Navy actually said that they didn’t know how they ended up pregnant.”
“It was the Enterprise (CVN65). Experienced it all. The “lady” recruits had all the “chiefs” under their thumbs and were providing “sex” favors to gain advancement.”
“It’s been a long time, but I think that I do remember something along those lines. I’m actually surprised that someone hasn’t called me sexist already. It has nothing to do with thinking that women are not capable of doing the jobs, it’s all about the problems their presence creates in a male dominated environment. Problems that in that environment have a magnified effect as opposed to the civilian environment.”
“I served over 21 years on active duty and what I saw essentially parallels what Hegseth is reporting! The problem is not the line troops, but rather with corrupted leadership, starting at the very top!”
“I entered the AF in 1970. When I retired in 95, we, the US, still had the capability to fight two major conflicts simultaneously. Today, I’m worried if we could even fight one. I see our stockpiles, manpower, and industrial base depleted. Then to top that all off, I see the leadership, both active duty and civilian, trying to score points with whatever is the newest thing coming out of the woke world. Not a good look for our military.”
“As a disabled Combat Veteran with almost 24 years’ service I simply cannot recommend military service to any young person right now. Today’s “leaders” are a joke. They care more about their political future (and wokeness) than for the men and women that depend on solid leadership. In simple terms, they just don’t “have your six”.”
“I was a fourth generation military member but I steered all of my children away from the military. I still felt like mission was the number one priority when I served, and I served alongside awesome men and women from diverse racial, social, and cultural backgrounds to accomplish that mission. Today diversity is the priority. The 2023 budget authorization had $8.6 million for gender dysphoria (half of one percent of the military) and $16 million total for body armor. Those priorities speak for themselves.”
“This woke movement started long ago in the military, it was called affirmative action back then. In the early 1990s I witnessed an E-5 get recommended for OCS when he could not pass his E-6 end of course test (EOCT). No joke. He retired an O-3.
How did this happen? A message came down from on high to recommend minorities for OCS. Our O-5 boss, always a suck up, decided he’d recommend this low performing E-5. Remember, he could not pass his E-6 EOCT to save his life. Voila! He’s off to OCS.”
“My husband retired from the AF in 1996 after 22 years and said he could see the path they were going down and feared for the military.”
“Looking forward to reading this. It’s sure to hit home. After military retirement, sadly, the flag pole at our house remains empty due to bitter feelings stemming from the destruction and chaos caused by the far left. Holding out hope it changes.”
The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free by Pete Hegseth
Book Description:
Real men fought for our freedoms. It’s time we fought for theirs.
Pete Hegseth joined the Army to fight extremists. Then that same Army called him one. The military Pete joined twenty years ago was fiercely focused on lethality, competency, and color blindness. Today our brass are following the rest of our country off the cliff of cultural chaos and weakness.
Americans with common sense are fighting this on many fronts, but if we can’t save the meritocracy of our military, we’re definitely going to lose everywhere else.
The War on Warriors uncovers the deep roots of our dysfunction—a society that has forgotten the men who take risks, cut through red tape, and get their hands dirty. The only kind of men prepared to face the dangers that the Left pretends don’t exist. Unlike issues of education or taxes or crime, this problem doesn’t have a zip code solution. We can’t move away from it. We can’t avoid it. We have only one Pentagon. Either we take it back or surrender it altogether.
Combining his own war experiences, tales of outrage, and an incisive look at how the chain of command got so kinked, this book is the key to saving our warriors—and winning future wars. The War on Warriors must be won by the good guys, because when the shooting really starts, they’re the only ones who can save us.
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