Trump and Hegseth to contact the best American generals in an unusual military rally

US President Donald Trump and defense secretary Pete Hegseth will focus on Tuesday to the American Military Top Brass in person on Tuesday for an unusual event in a base near Washington DC.

Hundreds of military leaders, including generals and admirals stationed worldwide, should attend. It represents a rare gathering of so many members of the top of the staff in one place.

No official reason was provided publicly when the leaders were summoned to a short notice last week, which prompted a wave of speculation. Vice-president JD Vance sought to minimize the event.

Security is extremely tight for the summit, which will take place at the Navy Base Quantico, a sprawling installation of 55,000 acres in Virginia.

Behind the stage on which Hegseth and Trump had to speak was a large American flag, with banners showing the words “Force, Service, America” ​​and the different flags of armed services on each side.

Confirming his own attendance on Sunday, Trump said that it would be “really just a very nice meeting speaking of the way we do militarily, speaking of being in great shape, speaking of many good positive things”.

The president told NBC News that it would be an exercise to generate “body spirit” – suggesting that he had seen an opportunity to galvanize his troops.

In his previous comments, Vance had accused the media of transforming it into “great history”, stressing that he was “not particularly unusual” for Hegseth generals to meet him in person.

Some observers did not agree. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian admiral who is president of the NATO military committee, was cited by the AP news agency: “Regarding my 49 years of service, I have never seen it before.”

Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Think Tank told Reuters: “It is in mystification why it was not done practically so that the superior officers do not have to spend a lot of time to travel.”

Mr. Cancanian continued by speculating that Hegseth thought that his points would have more strength if they were made in person.

During his mandate as a defense secretary, Hegseth did a large part of the need to establish a “warrior philosophy” in American troops and defended a brand change for his government division of the Ministry of Defense at the Ministry of War.

The exact number of participants expected on Tuesday is not clear, but could total more than 800, including officers from military facilities in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East.

Many officers arrived a few hours before the event and were seated in the auditorium according to their service branch – Army, Marine Corps, Marine, Air Force and Space Force, easily distinct by uniforms.

Many of them wore campaign medals showing that they had served in Afghanistan, Iraq or the broader American war against terrorism that was launched after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

In addition to the generals, the public included the most enlightened officers of various American units around the world – which means that individuals who serve as the commander’s personal adviser for their respective units.