VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Over 60 men and women officially began their military careers Tuesday during an enlistment ceremony at Naval Air Station Oceana, where they received a special visit from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, dubbed Secretary of War by the Trump administration.
The ceremony marked the official entry for future service members from Richmond's Military Entrance Processing Station, where they affirmed their dedication to serve the country. The oath was led by Hegseth himself.
During his speech, Hegseth told those enlisting that he and President Donald Trump have their back, which includes ensuring these men and women have everything they need from training, gear and facilities.
Watch related: Hegseth addresses crowd at Naval Station Norfolk
"Something I'm going to sign tomorrow but we're announcing today, we're establishing a new barracks task force charged with developing a department wide barracks investment within the next 30 days," Hegseth said. "Something like this has never been done before, the one big beautiful bill that President Trump championed gave over a billion dollars as the down payment in this effort. We are going to fix the barracks issue across all of our services."
Hegseth explained that every warfighter in the country deserves housing that is comfortable and safe, and that rebuilding housing is critical when it comes to rebuilding the country's military.
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