Bangladesh, Oct. 4 -- On September 30, 2025, at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, an unusual scene unfolded — one that may signal the start of a deep military crisis in the United States. President Donald Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressed nearly 800 generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisors — summoned at short notice from global outposts, at considerable taxpayer expense, just as whispers of a government shutdown loomed. What was billed as an unusual military gathering quickly turned into a clash.

Hegseth, in a 45-minute tirade, lambasted “fat generals” and decried the Pentagons “decades of decay” under diversity initiatives, vowing an end to “dudes in dress...