Pete Hegseth unveils plans for new US military base, touts testosterone testing for warriors in Pentagon speech: No wimps, no radicals

WASHINGTON — A fired-up Secretary of War Pete Hegseth unveiled plans to construct the first new military base on US soil in over four decades and have state governors come before him on camera with “their best sales pitch.”Hegseth unveiled plans for the new base as part of six new initiatives during his culture war-heavy “State of the Force” address to a gathering of nearly many of the country’s enlisted military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.“We haven’t built a new base in this country in 40 years.

That ends now,” Hegseth declared.“President Trump is a builder, and this project is about doing something bold, beautiful, and world-class for the great Americans who wear our nation’s uniform.”The new base would host an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 troops, according to Hegseth, an Army veteran, who also promised the troops would get “first-class” barracks.Governors and adjutant generals would make the pitch to Hegseth and his leadership team, livestreamed on camera for the country to see.

President Trump might also participate in the selection process.“In line with the president’s executive order on beautiful civic architecture, this base will be a proud fortress of our republic, built with timeless classical architecture,” Hegseth declared.The US has about 750–800 known bases around the world in roughly 80 different countries; about 335 of them are domestic, according to data from Visual Capitalist.

Every state has at least one, though the size varies considerably.“For too long, our military has been bogged down by the same old tired Washington playbook: spend trillions on exquisite weapon systems while our troops live in aging bases, outdated barracks,” the secretary of war said.

“Now we’re getting after it with the barracks task force.But it’s not enough.”The Pentagon honcho rolled out five other major initiatives during his address and confirmed the department’s 20% reduction in general and fla...