‘Unleashing the warfighter’: Hegseth and Musk unite at SpaceX to discuss revival of America’s military might

Secretary Pete Hegseth made a few stops in Texas on Monday as part of the War Department’s “Arsenal of Freedom Tour,” a month-long multistate campaign to promote the department’s priority of rebuilding and strengthening the U.S. military.

‘We are done running a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race.’

Hegseth delivered the oath of enlistment to Navy recruits in Irving and spoke to defense industry leaders at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. He told the defense contractor’s employees that the U.S. military would no longer promote far-left ideology like diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“No more DEI. No more dudes in dresses,” Hegseth stated, receiving applause from the crowd.

“No more climate change worship and social justice and political correctness — we’re done with that,” he continued. “We’re unleashing the warfighter to be ready, trained, disciplined, accountable, and lethal.”

Hegseth also delivered remarks at SpaceX, alongside the company’s founder, Elon Musk.

RELATED: Sen. Mark Kelly responds to censure from Pete Hegseth with a lawsuit

Amanda McCoy/Forth Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Before inviting Hegseth to the stage, Musk kicked off the event by outlining SpaceX’s purpose.

“We want to make ‘Star Trek’ real … so that it’s not always science fiction, but one day, the ‘science fiction’ turns to ‘science fact,'” Musk said.

During his speech at Starbase, Hegseth shared how the Trump administration’s Department of War is dismantling bureaucracy and prioritizing military innovation.

“What you have built and what you will build here is a testament to the strength of American ingenuity and American invention,” Hegseth told SpaceX staff.

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Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

He blamed the consolidation of the Defense Industrial Base following the end of the Cold War for making it nearly impossible for new creators to secure business with the War Department.

“The result is a risk-averse culture that prevents us from providing our warfighters with the best resources that America has to offer. That ends today,” Hegseth declared. “We are done running a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race.”

The secretary also announced that xAI’s Grok would join the department’s GenAI.mil, a platform that integrates frontier artificial intelligence capabilities. The War Department announced the integration of Google Cloud’s Gemini in early December.

“For too long, Pentagon bureaucracy has hindered the speed and might of our manufacturing base, obstructing innovation and warfare solutions from companies like SpaceX and Lockheed Martin. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, we are unleashing the full power of our Defense Industrial Base to advance our Peace Through Strength agenda,” read a War Department press release announcing Hegseth’s Texas trip.

“These engagements underscore the urgent priority of this administration: ensuring our warfighters have the cutting-edge, American-made equipment they need to dominate any battlefield. American manufacturing is back,” it added.

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