Hegseth, who spoke for 45 minutes, stressed the importance of the military’s appearance and physical standards, vowed to promote a more traditionally masculine image and pledged to roll back procedures aimed at increasing diversity within the forces. He told officers to resign if they did not support his agenda.

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US holds first major military parade after 34 years to honour army’s 250th anniversary

US holds first major military parade after 34 years to honour army’s 250th anniversary

The meeting also featured an hour-long speech by US President Donald Trump, who signalled plans to reshape the military according to personal and Republican Party preferences. Trump outlined the future roles of the assembled leaders in domestic missions, and also criticised his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Chinese state media sought to portray the gathering as having political overtones and lacking strategic necessity, mocking the widely publicised nature of details such as the meeting’s location, timing and agenda.

Kankan News, of the state-backed Shanghai Media Group, called the US military meeting a “concentrated study session”, saying the gathering was “not a strategic planning session but a loyalty test orchestrated by Make America Great Again (Maga)”.

“Critical decisions can be made through secure video conferences or encrypted emails. It’s far more efficient than making the US commanders fly 14 hours just to hear someone talk about ‘being a real man’. This is not a military strategy session – it’s essentially a public loyalty pledge,” the outlet said on Tuesday.