Close Menu

‘Military’ Publication Tries Attacking Hegseth, And Boy Did It Backfire

By MILITARY

On Tuesday, the Military Times published a piece on hazing and bullying within the armed forces — which, on the surface, may seem like serious issues that deserve real attention (but we’re training men and women for high-stress combat environments so…)

But instead of sticking to the facts or addressing legitimate concerns, the story strongly hints that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is somehow to blame. And why? Because Hegseth has been pushing for tougher training, reinstating strict fitness standards, and restoring an unapologetic warrior ethos to a military that’s spent years being softened by Pentagon bureaucrats and woke social engineers:

Here’s part of what the ‘story’ says:

When the Pentagon’s top civilian Pete Hegseth told an auditorium full of generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, in September that he felt proscriptions against bullying and hazing were “undercutting commanders and [noncommissioned officers],” the military was already seeing a rise in complaints about these practices.

That’s according to a Defense Department report published in June and obtained by Military Times. The congressionally mandated report, which tracks the reporting and adjudication of hazing and bullying within the armed forces but does not include reports from boot camp and entry-level training, shows that while overall numbers remain small, the Marine Corps continues to be the greatest source of complaints among the services. It also shows that data collection on accountability actions for those found to have perpetrated hazing behaviors is inconsistent.

In fiscal 2024, the last year for which data is available, troops submitted 138 complaints of hazing, of which 31, or 22%, were substantiated. That’s up from 121 complaints and 29 substantiations the previous year. They also made 1,058 reports of bullying, of which 227, or 21%, were substantiated. That’s up from 932 bullying reports and 175 substantiations in fiscal 2023.

While hazing reports saw an upswing in 2024 after three years of steady decline, bullying complaints, both total and substantiated, have been steadily increasing since 2020.

Sharp readers have likely already spotted the flaw in this entire narrative — but if not, here it is: every data point and every report the Military Times cited comes from the Biden years.

Not Hegseth. Not Trump. Biden. And the Department of War’s Rapid Response team didn’t hesitate to highlight that inconvenient little detail:

Here are some more rather appropriate responses:

They know full well the data comes from the Biden era, yet they’re pinning the blame on Hegseth anyway. Hardly shocking. During the first 100 days of the Trump administration, guess which Cabinet secretary received 100% negative coverage?

Pete Hegseth.

Even after hitting enlistment goals and bringing back a sense of pride and purpose in the armed forces, the media still can’t force themselves to acknowledge a single positive thing about him. Their narrative comes first — reality is optional.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Should Illegal Immigrants be Deported?*
This poll subscribes you to our free newsletter. Unsubscribe any time.