The Patton allusion is trite, but so was the speech, “The State of the Force,” delivered to noncoms this October. The most notable lines, of course, were about the elimination of “wokeness” in the American military.
No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos,” Hegseth said. “No wimps, no radicals. Just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops … the ideological clowns are out,” he continued “The patriotic cowboys are in—with testosterone testing on top.”
The New Republic
I’d like to say that at this was the worst part, but it came in second. The winner was a reiteration of the far-right denial that “diversity is our strength.” Hegseth has disbanded the Defense–excuse me, War–Department’s DEI Office and has laid off dozens of flag officers who don’t toe the president’s line. And he attacked diversity in front of this audience:
Only unity will do. One of the most unified military forces I can think of, heavy cavalry, fought at Agincourt in 1415. The French army’s spearhead was made up of noblemen, on horseback, who charged Henry V’s outnumbered soldiers, many of them sick. And Henry’s army was anything but unified–Englishmen, Welshmen, Scots– who probably had a hard time understanding each other while speaking the same language.
One more divisive factor: the English army had mounted knights, as well, but commoners made up the bulk of their infantry, the most devastating, Hegseth noted in the same speech, were the longbowmen.
As they awaited their imminent destruction, the English were rallied, in Shakespeare’s incredible speech, by their king. If the words are Shakespeare’s, their meaning and force are pure Henry.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition…
His army destroyed the French knights that day in 1415.
I saw this group photo today of the sailors killed on the destroyer Cole, a precursor to 9/11.
Polyglot.
Henry unified his troops by putting himself among them. Hegseth hectored his from a stage that stood above them. Which man is the more effective leader?
Far down in the transcript of his speech, in a passage savored by Hegseth, was his announcement that a new office, one that will develop robotic and “autonomous” (drone) warfare, is in the planning stages.
It’s called Project Agincourt.
Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Henry V’s speech:
