On his first day leading the Department of Defense after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth referred to Fort Moore by its former name of Fort Benning, and Fort Liberty by its former name of Fort Bragg, The Hill reported.
The remarks were made upon arrival at the Pentagon on Monday, but he did not add to his comments any indication that he said it as part of an intent to actually make the change back to the original names of the bases that honored Confederate generals after the switch to their current names was made during the Biden administration.
He made the remarks soon after he arrived and expressed that it is "an honor to be here. It's an honor to serve on behalf of the president and serve on behalf of the country. It's an amazing job, beyond what anyone can fathom," according to a transcript released by the U.S. Department of Defense.
A few moments later he said that he completely backed President Donald Trump's executive order to secure the nation's borders and carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, adding "there are more executive orders coming that we fully support, on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, the Iron Dome for America."
Hegseth then continued, saying "every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers. Our job is lethality and readiness and war fighting."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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