Hegseth stumbled through a 10-minute speech, managing to shock the Navy service members by joking about bombing and even ripping his own son.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has welcomed Japan's commitment to accelerate its military buildup and defense spending

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called for an early implementation of Japan's plan to increase defence spending, but said he had made no specific demand on the scale of the increase in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart.

For all the bravado, the U.S. has not provided any evidence to substantiate its allegations of drug trafficking.

U.S. troops with facial hair reportedly have been barred from attending an event with Hegseth this week at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. The restriction for troops was announced in an email purportedly sent by the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in South Korea and was posted Sunday to an unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page.

A three-star general serving on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff has been pushed out of his position following months of sustained tensions with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Defense secretary will announce changes to the Pentagon’s weapons purchases at an unusual gathering of defense industry executives.