After days of competing in All American Week events, hundreds of 82nd Airborne soldiers stood at attention at Pike Park for Thursday’s division review. Their eyes were locked on U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who traveled to Fort Bragg for the week’s final ceremony.
“I’m grateful to be assembled here amongst America’s guard of honor, the warriors of the 82nd Airborne Division, your families and so many stout-hearted veterans,” Hegseth said. “Like those who came before you, you keep showing the world the stuff you’re made of, because we know you are ready for the important work that lies ahead.”
Hegseth’s message to the soldiers was simple: The U.S. Department of Defense is refocusing on the basics of the military.
“Going back to the basics,” Hegseth said in his speech, has been the rationale for many of the recent changes to the service branches, including cutting 20% of the military’s four-star general officers — a decision the defense secretary previously said was to remove “redundant force structure … and streamline leadership.” The DoD has also worked to eliminate its branches of all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices and initiatives, an effort it stated has been completed as of Thursday in a department press release.
Under Hegseth, the Army established “sex-neutral” fitness standards requiring female and male combat soldiers to earn the same number of points on its fitness test, according to Task & Purpose. The DoD also required the Army to consolidate headquarters and “cancel or scale back” programs it deems ineffective or redundant, according to a department memo.
“Every single day, we will focus on readiness, on training, on war fighting, on accountability, on standards — Black, white, male, female, doesn’t matter,” Hegseth said in his May 22 speech. “We’re going to be color blind and merit-based war fighters, just like you are here in the 82nd Airborne.”
Since taking up the position of defense secretary, Hegseth has come under fire for his use of Signal, an unclassified messaging app. In March, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a Signal group chat where Hegseth shared information about military plans in Yemen. In April, Hegseth shared more military plans in a second Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. In response, the Pentagon announced plans to investigate Hegseth’s use of the app.
But in his speech at Fort Bragg, Hegseth shook off criticisms and reaffirmed his qualifications to be secretary of defense, emphasizing his perspective as a former infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard and his ability to “think like the troops.” It’s a quality retired Chief Warrant Officer of the 82nd Airborne Jesse Taitague appreciates, and was excited to hear about directly from Hegseth.
“It really means a lot to hear from the defense secretary,” Taitague told CityView. “We all know that great leaders start from the bottom. He truly understands how the soldiers feel down at the bottom, and he can make a difference. He has the power to make an influence, and power to make a difference for the soldiers out here on the front line.”
Part of Hegseth’s speech drew special appreciation from active duty 82nd Airborne soldiers: During his remarks, Hegseth announced the first increase in jump pay — called hazardous duty incentive pay — in decades. The pay will increase from $150 to $200 per month for all paratroopers, the news of the additional $50 per month prompting cheers from soldiers in the crowd who weren’t required to be at attention.
Hegseth added that jump masters, senior paratroopers who teach others to jump out of aircraft, will receive an additional $150 per month.
“Here’s to our paratroopers, our jump masters, who do the difficult things in difficult places that most Americans can never imagine,” he said.
Hegseth also spoke about the 10% pay raise to E1 through E4 service members — the junior enlisted personnel with the lowest pay — applied as of April 1. This is in addition to the 4.5% pay increase all service members saw at the start of this year. He added that the DoD is investing in improvements to barracks and privatized installation housing, which on Fort Bragg were previously found to have mold and other unsafe conditions, as reported by The Fayetteville Observer.
Cheers and applause from soldiers and civilians alike could be heard when Hegseth spoke about the installation’s return to the name of Fort Bragg. Hegseth ordered the installation’s name change from Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg earlier this year after it was changed in 2023 as part of a federal law revoking the names of Confederate leaders from military bases. Before the change to Liberty, the installation was named after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general and slaveholder.
While still called Fort Bragg, the new name honors Army Pfc. Roland Bragg, a World War II paratrooper.
“‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ I love it, but give me Fort Bragg every day of the week,” Hegseth said.
In addition to his speech to the 82nd Airborne, Hegseth also visited Army Special Operations Units and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School while at Fort Bragg.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.