The Big 3M Meeting

Pity the poor PFC on duty at Quantico for the Massive Military Meeting (3M) last week. When you must salute some 800 general officers streaming past your post, it’s bound to result in serious right-arm strain. And you just know all savvy Lance Corporals are avoiding Quantico’s Marine Corps Museum like the plague to prevent permanent injury to their right arms. There’s likely enough saluting going on at the 3M summit to create a whirlwind from all the waving arms.

There’s also a lot of flag-waving happening according to initial reports from the event. Speaking after Secretary Pete Hegseth’s explosive opening remarks, the Commander in Chief promptly ran off topic to applaud his national and international achievements and plans for future military missions. His only big revelation was $1trillion in defense spending he indicated would be in the national budget for 2026. That’s a lot of money by any measure, and the President said he hoped the generals would like that and spend it well.

Donald Trump’s presence didn’t suck much air out from under the Secretary of War who nominally hosted the 3M gathering. The SOW (Good Lord, was anyone even thinking about acronyms when they proposed that title switch?) led off with remarks that were carried live on many radio and TV outlets around the country. Pete Hegseth was typically frank and plain-spoken, giving the media plenty of snicker time when they quoted or broadcast his message to gathered general officers and senior enlisted advisors. Speaking of DEI initiatives in the American military, Hegseth said we are “done with that shit.” He also said he would not tolerate such things as “dudes in dresses” or fat generals. And good riddance to all that.

If there was a through line in the 3M meeting, it was a demand for a return to a “warrior ethos” in our American military, which Secretary Hegseth said requires a merit-based, colorblind military focused on lethality. Among the larger course changes being mandated in all the services are new rules on physical fitness and grooming requirements which will involve a return to “the highest male standard” for combat occupational specialties. Surely to follow shortly will be detailed lists of what MOS’s are included in that profile.

 “If you do not meet the male level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test, or don’t want to shave and look professional, it’s time for a new position or a new profession,” he said. “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the world. It’s a bad look.”

It’s also bad news for anyone wearing a military uniform who imagines they are too senior to worry about PT. Under the new regulations that Hegseth announced, everyone from slick-sleeved private to four-star general will be required to take and pass a PT test twice each year. “And, we’re not talking like hot yoga and stretching,” the Secretary added. He wants all ranks to work out vigorously and regularly either as an individual or with their unit.

The issue of standard military-length haircuts and beards did not escape the Secretary’s scorn. “We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards,” Hegseth said. “This is on duty, in the field, and in the rear. If you want a beard, you can join Special Forces. If not, then shave. We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.” I have a feeling even special operators will be bound by the new look unless they require a beard for some specific covert mission.

Hard telling from what I could see or hear of the 3M events, but there were bound to be some very senior officers feeling like they were being called on the carpet and chastised in a very public forum. So be it. If the combat boot fits, wear it.

As a veteran of service in such vacuous commands as the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut circa 1982-83, I was heartened to hear Secretary Hegseth promise American forces would no longer be deployed to worldwide hotspots under vague, politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement. That breath of fresh air will be welcomed throughout our forces by the guys on the ground with unloaded weapons.

The Secretary singled out several other distractions that he vowed to eliminate from military culture and focus. Out for the foreseeable future are identity month celebrations, formal DEI offices and officers, as well as other time and attention sucks like climate-change concerns and gender disputes. “You kill people and break things for a living,” Hegseth said. Amen.

The generals and senior NCOs sat stone-faced but I was on my feet applauding. It’s long past time when our military services stopped picking the fly poop out of the pepper and focused on training to be a lethal machine. In my opinion, nothing contributes more to peace than a credible military ready for war anywhere, anytime, and anyplace.

It’s hard not be overly parochial in assessing the 3M event but I suspect there might be an underlying reason for choosing to hold it at Quantico, the renowned “crossroads of the Corps.” It’s the right venue and I think it was chosen for the right reasons. The Marine Corps has always celebrated and adhered to a warrior ethos more resolutely than our other services. Military focus, fitness and grooming standards have changed back and forth over the past couple of decades. The Marines have not.

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