We recently discussed the name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, highlighting Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s apparent satisfaction with that change, which pointed toward imbuing the troops with a culture of wanton massacre. Today we have to admit we misjudged Hegseth’s glee.

Hegseth has shown he wants to go even lower, toward a title of Secretary of Slaughter. Hegseth announced that his department would refuse to revoke the Medals of Honor given to the U.S. federal soldiers who carried out the 1890 massacre of more than 300 Lakota Sioux adults and children at Wounded Knee, North Dakota. This position is consistent with Hegseth’s urging Trump to pardon Navy Seals found guilty of war crimes in Afghanistan. For Hegseth, strength means being ready to slaughter civilians. He should remember General Custer’s fate.

Next Hegseth announced that he was calling hundreds of multiple-star generals and admirals from all over the world to a meeting Sept. 29 in Quantico, Virginia. Hegseth — who retired with a rank of major without serious command experience and no experience running a major corporation — said he would give short lectures to the more than 1,000 top officers and aides present. It was announced later that Donald Trump plans to attend this meeting.

 The section of the corporate media unhappy with Trump seems aghast about this meeting. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that even the top officers themselves don’t know the agenda. Their articles speculated that the meeting may lead to more firings. (Some of the highest officers were fired in February for being too “woke,” and Hegseth has said he wants to cull out 20% of them) Or that the officers would be urged to fully adopt a warrior mentality (kill everyone). 

Some suggested that Hegseth would ask for a pledge of allegiance to Trump and to sign papers that they would obey his orders. One retired officer, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, in a social media post, compared the gathering to the “surprise assembly” in 1935 at which German generals were “required to swear a personal oath” to the Nazis and Adolf Hitler. Hodges, who did stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, seems to have insight into the character of this administration.

At Workers World we have no illusions about the role of the U.S. Armed Forces, whether or not there are “woke” officers. The U.S. military wages aggressive wars to protect and expand the private property, wealth and profits of a tiny group of extremely rich capitalists and Wall Street bankers who make up the imperialist ruling class.

We also know that Hegseth and Trump have never done anything that turned out good for the working class and the laboring people of the world, including in the U.S. 

Without a stitch of legality or truth, the administration has ordered warships to surround Venezuela and has killed people in boats, trying to provoke war. Trump orders troops into majority Black and Brown U.S. cities like Los Angeles and into Portland, Oregon. In none of these cities do the people, the mayors and the governors want them. These are illegal and unconstitutional orders, and soldiers who obey orders to carry out actions against the people will be guilty of war crimes.

At a protest of Israeli genocide in Gaza outside the United Nations Sept. 25, Colombia’s President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego made a courageous appeal to U.S. soldiers. It’s an appeal that all anti-war forces in the U.S. and all who want to stop the roundups of migrants and the stationing of troops in U.S. cities should repeat. Louder, with insistence and with organization to aid U.S. soldiers who refuse to commit war crimes.

“Don’t point your rifles at humanity,” Petro said. “Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”