The latest: Holsey, in a statement shared on X, said he was retiring from the Navy in mid-December after decades of service. "The SOUTHCOM team has made lasting contributions to the defense of our nation and will continue to do so," he said. Holsey did not directly address the boat strikes in his message.
The president spoke in a wheezy, sleepy tone for more than an hour, on a stage clearly meant to resemble the movie Patton. His prepared remarks were full of dictatorlike complaints about "the enemy within," and justifications for using the military to police U.S. cities. But it was hard to track the major themes, as there were so many long, self-aggrandizing ad-libs.
There is a reason why the other armies of the world say we are the best on the globe. They are well trained, well-disciplined, and they swear an oath to the constitution. And I just really find it offensive that anyone is insulting them and claiming that it's their promotions and their advancements through the services are a result of policies or wokeness or DEI, because that's just not true.
The Defense Department and White House have secure ways to communicate across countries and timezones, Axios' Colin Demarest reports, and it's unorthodox to have leaders simultaneously depart their stations. The gathering that Trump is framing as a sort of military pep rally came after months of high-profile retirements and removals that wiped away decades of the country's national security experience and a historic rebrand to the "Department of War."
Hundreds of generals and admirals - senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers - have been summoned by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from all over the world to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, with little notice. The White House official was not authorized to discuss the president's plans before a public announcement about his attendance and spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, the summons, delivered with little notice, applies to every one-star general and admiral in command positions, along with their senior enlisted counterparts. Attendance, officials were told, is mandatory; exceptions will be rare and require sign-off from top brass. The meeting is set for September 30, the final day of the government's fiscal year.
Anonymous sources told The Post that Hegseth's order, applies to all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or above, or their Navy equivalent, serving in command positions and their top enlisted advisers. Even those stationed in conflict zones were expected to attend, The Post reported.
Ukraine has worsened fuel shortages across Russia in the past week as it has continued to hit Russia's refineries and energy infrastructure with long-range drones while Poland has called for more oil sanctions in the wake of Russia's first drone attack on NATO soil. In the meantime, Russia's creeping advance resulted in the capture of three villages over the past week, and perhaps for the first time, Ukraine's command reacted by dismissing the retreating officers.
"He was a strong-spirited warrior who did not imagine himself anywhere but the navy. Having become deputy commander in chief of the navy, he did not stop personally visiting the positions of our marines."
