Air Force Academy

SecWar Hegseth Visit to USAFA; Gives Speech to Cadets

8 October 2026

(Pentagon News) Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to the U.S. Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday, October 3, where he addressed roughly 3,500 members of the school’s cadet wing ahead of the annual Air Force vs. Naval Academy collegiate football game.

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The visit was part of Hegseth’s “Send Me Tour,” a military outreach and recruitment initiative aimed at connecting Hegseth directly with military units, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs, university cadets and veteran resource centers across the United States.

Early in his remarks, Hegseth praised the cadets for volunteering to serve their country — something he pointed out puts them in an elite status as Americans.

“The idea that, across generations — for 251 years — our republic has required the absolute best of us to stand up and say, ‘Send me,’ and to end with, ‘So help me God, up to and including the price of my life, serving something greater than myself.’ … That’s a perspective 99% of Americans do not have,” Hegseth told the cadets.

Calling those who choose to serve in the military “the real 1%” of society, Hegseth said the Send Me Tour was created to showcase their service.

“We’re out here to showcase you and make sure America understands the depth of your sacrifice, which of course is on full display,” Hegseth said, before listing U.S. military successes over the past year, including Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Stating that it is critical that the U.S. military be able to counter adversaries who are building their own capabilities, Hegseth then went over the six strategic initiatives that he announced Sept. 30 during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia:

  • Autonomous Warfare Command, a planned four-star combatant command designed to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force.
  • Project Meridian, an effort to identify emerging technologies and capabilities needed for future warfare.
  • Fortress America, a program aimed at strengthening military installations, increasing energy independence and bringing critical defense supply chains back to the United States.
  • The Next Great American Base, a project to establish a new state-of-the-art military installation in the United States.
  • America’s Corps of Cadets, an initiative to expand the pipeline of military officers through senior military colleges.
  • The Office of Religious Affairs, established to strengthen spiritual readiness and give military chaplains greater access to senior department leadership.

Hegseth concluded his remarks by discussing what he calls the War Department’s “Golden Rule”: “Do unto [one’s military] formations that which [one] would have done unto [one’s] son or daughter’s formations.”

“So that, when the bullets are flying … you know — on your left and right — you have the most capable human beings to have your back inside your formations. That’s what you deserve; that’s what your parents expect of you; that’s what I expect for my kids; and that’s what we should expect across the entire War Department,” Hegseth said.

“So, thank you for what you’re doing. You have raised your hand to say, ‘Send me.'”

The visit marked the second stop on the secretary’s Send Me Tour, with Hegseth having kicked the tour off with a visit to Texas A&M University’s corps of cadets Sept. 19.

“As a former Cadet Group Commander at USAFA, this is the speech I wanted those cadets (my cadets) to hear.

Secretary Hegseth stood in front of about 3,500 of them in the USAFA dining hall yesterday, ahead of Air Force–Navy, and told them the truth.

For 251 years. our Republic has needed people willing to stand up and say “Send me.” Countless millions of us ended our oath with “so help me God,” up to and including the price of our lives.

That’s the real 1%. Not the other one.

I didn’t come through the Academy. I came through OTS and a C-141 cockpit. Different door, same oath.

The young men and women in that room are about to find out their soon-to-be career isn’t a slogan. It’s a night approach, a missile warning, a crew that has to get home.

What they need on their left and right shoulder is the most capable human being in the formation, not a social experiment.

His “golden rule” is the one we should have been using all along: do unto those formations what you’d want done unto your own son or daughter’s. When the bullets are flying, standards are mercy.

Well said, Mr. Secretary. Fly. Fight. Win.

Aim high.”

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