their military objective is to destroy hamas as a political and military entity. now, here we are a year later and they have pretty much accomplished that military task. they have destroyed probably two thirds, maybe 70% of hamas as best i can tell. destroyed most of their logistics and certainly killed all of their leadership. now, hamas is more than just people and guns. it's also an idea and there hasn't been a political replacement to hamas yet, but they've done a lot of damage to hamas. the cost of that though has been extraordinarily high, which is the collateral damage to the palestinian people in gaza. the military task of fighting in a highly dense urban area with a couple million people and a couple of square miles is really, really difficult and the israelis have not gone in there with the intent to slaughter a murder of civilians, but hamas is hiding behind civilians, they're hiding below hospitals, they're hiding inside a mosque, etc. so the military task was extraordinarily difficult for the israelis. but i think now that the leadership is gone, ther

military. being a racist in our military has not been tolerated. >> would you agree the u.s. military is one of the most forward leaning, probably one of the greatest civil rights organizations in american history? mr. hegseth: no doubt. >> let me turn to another one. last year in a hearing before this committee i called on the secretary of the navy to resign because he is failing in his ability to build ships. we are being completely out built in terms of ships by the chinese. yet this secretary of the navy has focus on climate change, not building ships and lethality. mr. hegseth if your secretary of the navy ends up focusing on climate change, will you commit to me to fire him? mr. hegseth: my secretary of the navy will not be focused on climate change in the navy. just like the secretary of the air force will not be focused on lg powered fire jets -- fighter jets or the secretary will not be focused on electric powered tanks. >> i appreciate data. the other thing president biden did, his first executive order as president was to focus on transgender surgeries for active-d

system in the military. yes or no? mr. hegseth: those are laws, senator, set by congress. sen. slotkin: so you will not attempt to change it. you also said that jag officers are potentially people who put their own interests in their own medals and promotions ahead of the troops. lindsey graham was a jag officer for most of his life. is that what you believe about those who implement our justice system in the military? mr. hegseth: i was begin particular j--speaking of particular jag officers i've dealt with -- sen. slotkin: is the secretary of defense going to get involved in the code of justice? mr. hegseth: there will be a big part of my job to evaluate decisions -- sen. slotkin: i will take that as a yes. is cq brown on your list on the whereabouts to be removed from his position? mr. hegseth: every single officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality, and commitment to lawful orders they will be given. chair wicker: thank you, senator slotkin. i recognize senator shaheen for unanim

of military children, specifically military children with disabilities and their families.ed urgent attention to critical quality of life issues and worked with nongovernmental organizations to ensure that all service members, veterans and their families have the tools they needed to succeed. through joining forces dr. biden inspired, educated and sparked action from all sectors of society to ensure service members, veterans, and their families have the support they have earned and deserved. the distinctive accomplishments of dr. biden reflect great credit upon herself, the department of defense and the united states of america. [applause] >> attention. honor guard! >> attention! >> distinguished guests, please stand for the posting of the colors. >> post colors. step right. face. ♪ >> forward march! >> please be seated. >> ceremonial. >> ceremonial. >> at ease. ♪ >> ♪ mine eyes have seen the glory ♪ ♪ of the coming of the lord ♪ ♪ he is trampling out. the vintage of where the wraps of wrath are stored ♪ ♪ he is truly marching on ♪ ♪ glory ♪ ♪ glory ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ glory

mainly military history. us military history, occasionally history, gender and sexuality, which was my previous incarnation before i became convert to military history. how did you get into military history? i hate say it, but it was actually a television commercial army recruiting commercial. they were advertising post-cold war pre 911. and really how do sell the army when supposedly is the end of history and it's all resolved they were selling the army as social good as you know taking men who were either at risk potentially problematic for society and helping them become the people that they could be helping them not disappoint their third grade teacher or their mother, whomever who believed in all along. and i got fascinated by that commercial and thought would write about the army as social. and at some point my husband, who also a historian you can't just write about commercials, you're going to write about the army. you have to understand the army. so i spent several years trying to get to that point.

in doing so, we will reestablish trust in our military. addressing the recruiting crisis, the retention crisis and readiness crisis in our ranks. >> members of the security force will remove members. mr. mr. hegseth, you may. you may. >> the strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose, not our differences. number two, we're going to rebuild our military, always matching threats to capabilities. this includes reviving our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisitions process. as you mentioned, mr. chairman, no more valley of death for new defense companies modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the pentagon can pass an audit and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. and number three, we're going to reestablish deterrence. first and foremost, we will defend our homeland, our borders and our skies. second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the indo-pacific from the communist chinese. and finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure that we prioritize our resources to reorient to larg

military. magically he started saying less offensive things about women, right after he was nominated to be secretary of defense. nobody believes this conversion. this is a conversion for political reasons only. it does not mask the fact that this is what pete hegseth believes. that he believes that women are inferior to men. and again, not just that they shouldn't engage in combat. he believes they are morally inferior, that they have qualities that men don't have. many women, most women that i know who have served bravely and effectively in combat, some se serving with us on capitol hill, have taken grave offense to pete hegseth's unfounded denigration of that service. and many have pointed out the real impacts his ideas will have surrounding women in combat, and what those comments could mean for our more general readiness. why? because there are 360,000 women serving in the u.s. military today, in a variety of capacities. they are essential to keeping this nation safe. and now every single

in the military. because you have made a number of surprising statements about women serving in the military. as recently as november 7th of 2024 on the sean ryan show, you said and i quote, i'm straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles. it hasn't made us more effective. the quote went on a little longer but that was the gist of it. that was before you were nominated to be secretary of defense. mr. hegseth, do you know what percentage of our military is comprised of women? >> i believe it's 18 to 20%. >> almost 18% and in fact d.o.d.'s 2023 demographic report indicated that there are more women serving now and there are fewer separations so they make up a critical part of our military, wouldn't you agree? >> yes, ma'am. women in our military as i have said publicly have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield. >> you always write in your book the war on warriors with a chapter the deadly obsession with women warriors that quote not only a

hegseth from rising higher in the ranks of the military.ut totality of his own writings and conduct would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the militarys much less being confirmed as the secretary of defense. if there was evidence that a serving officer in the military was a drunk in uniform in a strip club, if there was evidence that a senior military officer was engaged and sexual relations while married to another woman have just fostered a child from another woman, i can guarantee you that officers career would end swiftly. either by resignation or by court-martial. moreover, our service members since this country have taken an oath to the constitution. in their mission is to protect the country and all of its citizens. the ideals this country was founded on what you should should endure nomatter who is pr whatever political party is in power. mr. hegseth idea of meritocracy however it seems to be service members should pledge fealty to a president who will be in power for only four years and fit the i

system in the military. yes or no? you said that earlier. >> those are laws, senator, set by congress. >> okay. so you will not go to change it. you're not attempt to change it. you also said that jag officers are potentially people who put their own interests in their own medals and promotions ahead of the troops. senator lindsey graham was a jag officer for most of his life. is that what you believe about those who implement our justice system in the us military? >> senator, i was speaking about particular jag officers i've had to deal with in my military career. are you going to get involved? member of the united states senate. >> are you a secretary of defense going to get involved in the implementation of the us military code of justice? >> senator, ultimately, it will be a big part of my job to evaluate decisions vis a vis. okay, so uniform code of military justice, have you seen the fairly is cq brown on your list in the warrior boards to be removed from his position? senator. every single senior offi

the best of military culture. [applause] todd: thank you, robin. truly appreciate it. my name is todd brockman, the cofounder and chairman of m-con. i have known robin for 25 years. i am not aging anybody but we met in 2000 at the sundance film festival and we have been all over the world together. i love what they are doing. mcon is a celebration of the military. it's a festival, so think south by southwest meets the military. we focus on financial health, physical health, and we say brain health, not mental health. you can use that term if you wish but brain health is a term we use a lot. we are honored to be here tonight to support these individuals who are so special and important and accomplished and we hope you will join us at the events in the fall. in las vegas in october, we have about 6000 people coming this year. we are in tokyo in about 31 days on -- in march with the george w. bush foundation and an esteemed japanese architect. we will be supporting you as much as we possibly can. that's right. she's

and then a letter to a friend, he invoked his military most to justify it. i have sworn to uphold and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. and i will, blood will flow in the streets, good versus evil. free man versus social is to want to be slaves pray. it's not your blood. my friend, the other key component here was his use of the turner diaries, a gun shows timothy mcveigh would have copies of the turner diaries, but just don't be a novel. the details how to topple the us government. the fictional revolutionary start by blowing up a federal building and then proceed to exterminate their political enemies, including all jews, blacks, and latinos. in 1997 mcvay was convicted of murdering 168 people using a weapon of mass destruction and blowing up a federal building. no domestic terrorism charges were brought however, because he and nichols were sought to have acted alone. just imagine, as timothy mcveigh is named wants to know how much we will look at the terrorism truck in a very different let's 1st of all we will look at it a

, the military course of the war.there's the civil war monitor is in your bags. and we just published a piece in there where we talk about this. we do some conjectures about what what this might have meant for camp life and the battlefield. right. you know, we think of camp life as a band of brothers, if you like. but if we really thought about what's actually happening in camps, there's boys from the age of ten and there's older. you know, a study like ours could be written on the other end of the spectrum to show how many men enlisted over age. you've got all these different generations within camps. so i think that really shapes what camp life was like. similarly, in battle, we don't know. i mean, you know, we don't really know what difference it made that there were this young people fighting in a war and in one sense, ages arbitrary. you can't really tell the difference between a 15 or a 16 year old. but in another sense, you know, since the civil war, we've learned that age is very significant in terms of like t

military are trans people. brett: yeah.k a the implication, because it is great when secretary headsets as well, we are getting rid of dei, then all of a sudden they discover that tuskegee airmen or the female fighters and the american air force during world war ii, which were critical parts of learning how to be a member of the u.s. military, were banished , and this is the kind of just, you know, quite frankly bludgeoning, just not taking a smart approach to, you know, you can ideologically agree or disagree with these decisions, but i think the key thing here, and one to watch going forward, is they are applying an ideological litmus test for members of our military. they are applying an ideological litmus test for those who hold national security positions. that is dangerous. that is really dangerous for the security of the united states, the security of our allies watching around the world, and they are doing it, saying if you don't adhere to this conservative ideology, we will fire you. lance: i think they would argue

the army says, do you think our military and our military will follow that order? our military will follow that order, senator, gladly, because they want to focus on lethality and war fighting and get all the woke political prerogative, politically correct social justice, political stuff out of the military. >> thank you, senator sullivan. senator kaine, thank you, mr. hegseth. >> i'm looking forward to this opportunity to talk. i want to return to the incident that you referenced a minute ago that occurred in monterey, california, in october 2017. at that time, you were still married to your second wife, correct? i believe so. >> and you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife. correct? >> senator, i was falsely charged. i fully investigated and completely cleared. >> so you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime? that's your definition of cleared. you had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. i am shocked that you would stand here and say you're completely cleared. c

military has been weakened by political correctness. over the years you have made clear in your opinion of the military's diversity initiatives. as you said, "diversity is not our strength. unity is." on a recent podcast he said, "i'm straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles." i joined the army in the u.s. military was rife with racial tension, women were prohibited from serving in both roles, gay service numbers were banned and we relied on the national draft. the soldiers i served with were proud to do so but it was not the nation's most capable military by any standard. we have made great progress since then. the department of defense is fully integrated today. every race and religion is accepted. women served in all combat rules and leadership positions. sexual orientation is irrelevant to service and the all volunteer force visibly reflects the nation it protects. our military is more diverse than it has ever been but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been. this is not a coincidence. mr. hegset

what is going on in the military.nrollment in the military is down. we need to get that up. we have four countries worldwide lined up against us, and we've got a military that is weaker today than it has ever been. we honestly need a change. as an independent, i choose the best line. right now, it is not lie with the status quo. the status quo has failed us. host: one more call, bill, arizona, independent. caller: hi, pedro, how are you doing? pete hegseth would be perfect for the job because the last time trump did this, the general stabbed him in the back, and only interested in embroidery. host: that is bill in arizona. last call on the topic, people all of you who participated. 9:38 the start of the hearing with pam bondi, the president-elect's choic become the next attorney general, 10:00 for marco rubio, the president-elect choice to become the secretary of state. a lot of other hearings, too. stay close to our website and the app for more information on the confirmation hearings. coming up and joining us next,

i am also former military. through his administration really started to realize he was a better president. the biggest thing i am looking for is probably the border trade there's lots of crime, sentinel, homelessness and a great cities. i think if we can close our borders get deportations going wild much cleaner and safer country. >> c-span voices, delivering democracy unfiltered. be part of the conversation. ♪ c-span's "washington journal" leiva form involving mute to discuss lace issues and in government, politics and public policy. from washington d.c. and across the country. coming up tuesday morning we will look at president trump day one executive orders and policy priorities are gate related to immigration and border policy with america first policy institute chad wolf. kerri talbott of immigration hub. c-span "washington journal" join the conversation live at 7:00 a.m. eastern tuesday morning on c-span, c-spa now or c-span.org. ♪ democracy is not just an idea. it is a process. process shape bite leaders

many armed forces carried out several military operations in the past 48 hours. the most prominent of which was targeting the american aircraft carrier us is harry s truman, and a number of its 4 ships in the northern red sea region, with a number of cruise missiles and runs to move in a year. the ram backed rebels have attacked commercial ships linked to israel. directions in the red sea have disrupted global shipping rates and pushed off insurance costs. israel says most strikes against the who sees will fall, a dog will crush or the fire israel's long arm will reach you everywhere. thousands of who sees who participated in a heat march against israel heard up close the power of the air force plant. well, it's a part of who the data is paralyzed, and the port of ross isa is on fire. and the message is clear. whoever harms israel will be harmed, want to use human has been devastated by civil and to die. humanitarian crisis attacks by israel and its allies, a closing increasing hardship for its people. but the who see say they went back down the many in the to hi

military to lower the bar. you picked up on that same theme in 2015 making remarks on fox news, referring to women in combat as "it would erode standards." june 2024 you said on ben schapiro's podcast "women shouldn't be in combat at all." and then of course we talked about it in 2024, he published a book, and you say on page 26 of your book we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units. page 48 of your book you claim that women should not be in combat roles because men are distracted by women, and then 10 weeks ago you appeared on the sean o'brien show and said i'm a straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. i presume you recall making all the statements? mr. hegseth: i'm not familiar with the article you're pointing to it 2013 13 but it underscores my argument because i was talking about standards. standards are what it has always -- >> let's not have this same fight again. i've quoted you directly, we've got the video, we are happy to show it. for 12 years you were

military flights.o this follows a tense couple of days where president trump threatened steep tariffs on the country after it refused to take migrants being deported on u.s. military planes. priscilla alvarez is here with us. um, quite the turn of events here, priscilla. >> yes, this has been a clash that has played out publicly for all to see between these two world leaders that otherwise would be close allies. so a trump administration official telling me that now columbia is sending two government planes to pick up migrants who were originally scheduled to go on those u.s. military flights. now, the u.s. military flights has added a new wrinkle to all of this, because this was part of president donald trump's national emergency declaration, essentially using military assets to repatriate migrants, among other efforts. now, columbia has taken a lot of deportation flights on civilian aircraft. but what the colombian president appeared to take issue with was the fact that they were returning on militar

hegseth from rising higher in the ranks of the military. the totality of his own writings and conduct would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military. much less being confirmed as a secretary of defense. if there was evidence that a serving officer in the military was drunk in un uniform, in a sp club, if there was evidence that a senior military officer was engaged in sexual relations while married to another woman, i guarantee you that officer's career would end swiftly, either by resignation or by court-martial. moreover, our servicemembers, since the birth of this country 249 years ago, have taken an oath to the constitution. their mission is to protect the country and all of its citizens and the ideals this country was founded on which should endure no matter who is president or what political party is in power. mr. hegseth's idea of meritocracy, however, seems to be that servicemembers should be pledge to a president who will be in power for four years and fit the ideas of a party that only half

military. we totally rebuilt the u.s. military in 2017, 2019, 2018. we rebuilt the entire u.s.do it again. a lot of it has been dissipated. a lot of people that don't know what the hell they were doing but we will do it again and this is going to be the dawn of the golden age of america. this is the golden age of america. and tonight i am filled with optimism for what lies ahead over the next four years. we will replenish the pride of our armed forces and the recruitment crisis. and by the way, the recruitment numbers are through the roof in the last two months. i wonder why. why the hell -- you have a little problem with recruitment, die is not good. and now the numbers are higher --do you know why? they love what they see for the future of our country. and they did not love what they were seeing for the last four years. it was ridiculous. it is a big thing, actually, there are big stories that recruiting has gone through the roof. i want to thank every servicemember here tonight. i want you to know that you are at the heart of america's greatness. it is an exceptional honor t

military background. and i think it is, it would be true and like the 3 percent is already of cheaper. it's the one thread that kind of combines all of our groups is the us constitution. our respect for the and i signed up to defend this country. i was essentially joining the 3 percent or is already those of in listening is the exact oath of a 3 percent of the in atlanta, i met up with 3 percent as of some of the other brothers out there and everybody was upset about the election. you know, i mean, basically we're looking at a criminal that has become our president diligently joe biden has already, his son is already on his car. we know for our family is a criminal family. situation we're in is a situation of trees, punishment for trees. in america, you have the right to be and you have the right to have the most pathetic views in the world. i don't have to agree with you. you don't have to agree with me, but that's the right protected by the 1st amendment. i think when we talk about the vonage extremist

strategic competition is rarely confined to the military sphere and is powerful as military tools are, they have limits. when competitors like china use brazen tactics, the most effective counters, navy, intelligence sharing, diplomatic actions, other activities. sometimes dod should contribute, but not always. you must u -- we must use all levers of national power and more that is why this administration has taken steps to ensure that u.s. wealth and innovation aren't exploited for pla military monetization. a private sector is a key advantage and we must collectively collaborate to achieve our competition aims. that is why we have made significant, sustained investments every year to strengthen the health, productivity, workforce, facilities, and supply chains of our defense industrial base, traditional and nontraditional, from critical minerals to microelectronics and much, much more. our ability to innovate is something that beijing can never blunt, steal, or copy, because it is embedded of our system of free minds, free markets, and free people. we don't seek to control innovatio

the military. joe biden has done the same thing, four years in a row despite a very dangerous world joe biden has put forward inflation adjusted defense department cuts and president trump ran on peace through strength. that's what we are going to do with him and pete hegseth. i think that's what the american people want. it is a dangerous world. we don't need a woke military, we need a lethal and stronger military. >> dana: president biden gave a speech yesterday he is leaving president trump a really good situation on the world stage. watch him here. >> president biden: kamala and i took office our nation had become stronger at home, stronger in the world and now america is more capable and i would argue better prepared than we've been in a long, long time. over the next administration that is what we're handing it to. even so it's clear, my administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play. >> dana: a short amount of time but get your reaction to that before we he

and it's going to be led by our great military, the strength of our military. we're going to make our military so strong that we don't have to use it. wouldn't that be good? we don't have to use it. they'll look at us and they'll say, there's no way. there's no way we're going after that one. so i want to just say to you, god bless you. god bless our armed forces. god bless our men and women serving overseas, and god bless the united states of america. thank you, thank you. >> thank you very much. god bless. usa. usa. usa. he was taking. >> all right. we'll continue our live coverage. we are at the commander in chief ball. we are in washington dc. i don't want to hold on. the president is talking. >> oh, here it comes. no, that's a cake. there they are. hello, everybody. how are we doing over there? how's kim jong un doing? how are you? >> how do you hear me? >> that's a good looking group of people, isn't it? thank you for being with us. >> how do you hear us? >> yes, i hear you. fine, sir. >> i'm lieutenant general chris laneve, commanding general, eighth arm

but lens apparent endorsement of the military who is not the only time the former military intelligence officer has planted ideas about the legitimacy of the federal government and its partners in crime. well, he doesn't need any introduction on this friday, january 28th broadcasting general plan. and of course, i, embattled individuals in the fight for this republic. all these global organizations, they see themselves has, this is how we can control societies. this is how we can control humanity. so let's introduce something called colbin and they did it and they did it for a couple of reasons. one of the big reasons was, was a steel and election as you learn the ability to lead, whether it's military or not, you've learned the ability to get people to do stuff. and that's just what he's doing. we are in a percival moment in the history of the not states of america for fighting was faced or fighting, or college and nothing can resist the power be perverts, this military experience, this religious experience to evoke this kind of feeling of a higher purpose pressure in the wordpress byr

it will be lead by our great military. the strength of our military.e going to make our military so strong that we don't have to use it. wouldn't that be good? we don't have to use it. they will look at us and say there is no way. no way we are going after that one. i just want to say to you, god bless you, god bless our armed forces, god bless our men and women serving overseas and god blessed the united states of america. thank you. thank you very much. >>> we have been listening to president trump addressing the commander in chief ball. a room filled with a lot of his supporters and a lot of the u.s. military there, john. he was talking about what he wants to do at the pentagon. we talked a lot with what he wants to do with immigration and january 6th but pentagon, he insisted about . >> i have no idea how we are getting him on the screen. i have been waiting for it. oh, here it comes. that is the cake. hello, everybody. how are we doing over there? how is kim jong un doing? >> how are you hearing? >> that is a good-looking group of people, isn't it

only 7 percent of the us population less than $1.10 as a military background. i think it is some skills that a learned in the military which may lend themselves then to mass shootings that follows the, for instance, proficiency with firearms. that surprised me that people who have that skill and expertise are over represented. no, it does not. the number of veterans who have been arrested in sales at least once, is also growing. and that could be because mental health issues among the facts are more prevalent than ever before. research suggests that it's because veterans who have served since 911 for life, please. several time use wars and the dentist on and iraq and are about twice as likely as veterans of previous wars to have served in an active combat. so many of them also served multiple deployments, making them as 3 times more likely than those who were non deployed to suffer from peaches. the the tests last cyber truck attacker had been deployed. so it's gather some 3 times, for example, cars that have had an effect on his mental health. what can be sure

do you support the use of active-duty military? >> everything under the constitution but i recognize this administration has advocateds , president trump wil resort for. >> i get it. i get it.. reserving institution i think we will caree about what i've heard a couple of different things. you said he would not change what governs the justice system and the military, yes or no? >> see you will not attempt to change it. he also said officers are potentially people in their own metals promotions ahead of the truth. lindsey graham was an officer for most, is that what you believe about the justice system?ar uniform code of military. >> have you seen the warrior boards removed? >> based on aristocracy standards commitment. >> thank you. i now recognize senator shaheen unanimous consent. >> i have a request former general 35 years who most commanded for the readiness command and opposing the nomination. >> without objection, it will be entered. i present a host of letters from former coworkers as well as fox news channel. iraqis and mr.

like a lot of people in the military. but i was looking at like, i can't even calm documentaries, but these youtube videos like, uh, movies like guys you have better wake up and understand that there are people who are guiding your life and you don't even know what none of those studies stream is recognized. it's filled with the anti semitic troops in the theme of the movie without explicitly saying it is the jewish people are out there controlling the banks in the bank. so the reasons why they go into course so therefore, the jews responsible for my friends die, right? that's the connection that it's trying to make. the ultimate goal is to get everybody in this room and have all money beyond those chips and everything on those chips. and if anybody wants to protest what we do or violate what we want, we just don't know if the chip i just absorb this propaganda fell for it fell into it. you know, i was watching alex jones before anyone me would say wants me now. they're openly lagging, it's really government and they run