Hegseth Thanks Young Americans in Knoxville Who Say 'Send Me'

On the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville today, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with two groups of young Americans who opted to defend the nation, falling in line behind generations of Americans who served in the Civil War, two world wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and conflicts in the Middle East.

Before attending a football game between Tennessee's Volunteers and the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide, the secretary administered the oath of enlistment to young men and women representing all service branches and the Tennessee National Guard.

He also addressed cadets involved in the school's ROTC program.

Hegseth said both groups impressed him with their willingness to serve, to volunteer and to do the nation's work.

"For 251 years, Americans raised their right hand and said, 'send me;' send me to fight the redcoats, send me to fight the Nazis, send me to fight the communists, send me to fight the Islamists," he said. "And now, you've said, 'send me' to defend [your] nation, to fight against whatever threatens our shores, our interests and our people."

Hegseth said those young people who stepped up to serve are actually in the business of peacemaking; they ensure "peace through strength," he said, adding that they ensure the American homeland remains safe.

"If there's one entity that should win the Nobel Peace Prize every single year, it actually should be the United States military," he said. "Peace through strength: the reason our people live free, the reason we get to play football games like this one today, are because we are stronger than any other nation in the world."

The men and women of the U.S. armed forces - enlisted and officers - keep peace around the world and in the United States, he said, allowing Americans at home to flourish.

As an example, the secretary said he's confident graduates of the University of Tennessee's ROTC program are actually in the Middle East at the Strait of Hormuz, at the U.S. southern border or standing guard in Europe.

"No doubt, you will soon be in one of those types of places," Hegseth said.

He also explained the four elements of national power - diplomatic, informational, military and economic - also known as DIME within the federal government.

"You are in the 'M' business," he said. "That's your lane, and the better you are at the M business means we can afford to talk diplomacy, or we can afford to work on the economic side. When you are strong, and you are prepared, and you are lethal, and you are ready, everything else falls into place."

Since January 2025, when he assumed office at the Pentagon, the secretary said he has guided the War Department on a path to ensure every service member has what they need to be strong, prepared and lethal.

"We've had three core principles from the beginning of showing up at the War Department: restore the warrior ethos, rebuild the military, reestablish deterrence," he said.

Restoring the warrior ethos happens in places like the University of Tennessee's ROTC program and in the basic training units the enlistees will soon join.

He noted that restoring it means getting back to basics: colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based accountability, standards, discipline, readiness, training and lethality.

"If it doesn't contribute to [those] things, you shouldn't be doing it," he said.

The secretary also said rebuilding the warrior ethos is enhanced by building trust between leaders and service members. He explained the "golden rule," which he first discussed in August 2025 when addressing U.S. military senior leaders in Quantico, Virginia.

"We apply something called the golden rule at the War Department," Hegseth said. "[It] is ultimately: do unto your formation that which you would have done unto your son's or daughter's formation."

That golden rule, the secretary said, is also a promise to the parents of the young people who join the military: the military will always do right by them.

"I'm going to make sure that your son or daughter is in the kind of formation I would want my son or daughter in," he said. "I'm not going to change standards based on a quota. I'm not going to focus on things that divide us. ... I'm going to focus on what unites us: our shared purpose, our commitment to the Constitution [and] how good we are as a team."

As an even greater show of faith, Hegseth told the cadets and enlistees that their leadership, to the very top, sees them and supports them.

"I couldn't be more proud to be here with you; to have a chance on behalf of the president of the United States, to look you in the eye, thank you and tell you we're going to do everything we can every single day to have your back, to ensure that you have what you need, that you are trained, that you are prepared, that you are disciplined, [that] you are ready and [that] you have the tools you need to be lethal and effective," he said.