"FAFO: The New Standard of Peace"

At Quantico, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said what too many in uniform have forgotten and too many in Washington have feared: the mission is war. Not diversity initiatives, not corporate-slick branding, not managerial doublespeak. War. Preparing for it, training for it, and winning it when it comes.

His words landed like steel because they weren’t dressed up for applause. He said plainly: “From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win.” And he ended with a line that belongs carved in stone: “To our enemies, FAFO.”

There are men alive today who cannot handle plain truth. They confuse principles with hashtags, character with image, and discipline with inconvenience. They chase money, status, or attention, but not virtue. The infantryman has never had that luxury.

For thousands of years, the warfighter has lived one way: hard, tough, and unrelenting. From Roman legionaries on frozen frontiers, to grunts in the jungles of Vietnam, to Rangers in the mountains of Afghanistan, the men who fight wars have never been “influencers.” They were in the mud, in the blood, carrying rifles, carrying brothers, carrying weight. They didn’t monetize the hardship. They didn’t capitalize on the suffering. They carried it because somebody had to.

Hegseth’s speech wasn’t just about raising standards in grooming or fitness. It was about resurrecting principle in a time when principle is almost extinct. It was about saying that the War Department will no longer be a daycare for careers but a crucible for warriors. You don’t get to wear the uniform for a paycheck or a retirement package — you wear it to carry the unbearable for the Republic, and you do it without complaint.

And yes, it will offend people. Good. War offends. War humiliates the weak. War exposes frauds. That is why discipline matters, why standards matter, and why clarity matters. America doesn’t need generals in tailored suits explaining strategy on television. America needs warriors who understand that peace is only purchased by the violence, precision, and ferocity of the men who are willing to do the dirty work.

Critics will howl that this is harsh, exclusionary, or outdated. They will say “times have changed.” No. Human nature hasn’t changed. War hasn’t changed. It is still blood, fire, and steel. And the men who fight it must be forged accordingly.

What Secretary Hegseth did at Quantico was remind the brass that the military is not a corporation and soldiers are not brand ambassadors. They are warfighters. They are expendable if need be, but they are never optional. They are the wall between civilization and chaos.

As a veteran, I support Hegseth’s message without hesitation. Not because I crave war, but because I crave peace, and peace must be earned the hard way. Every infantryman who’s ever walked a patrol already knows it: you train hard, you suffer harder, and you bleed if necessary, so the people back home don’t have to. That’s principle. That’s virtue. That’s manhood.

The War Department is not a slogan. It is a return to reality. And reality is this: the strong keep the weak safe, the disciplined hold the line, and the principled refuse to bend. That is what wins wars, and it is the only thing that keeps the peace.

"Vera Virtus Non Simulata"