Since Pete Hegseth became Secretary of War, he has been loudly fighting against diversity in the military. He has spoken harshly about gay service members and even said they somehow “hurt” unit cohesion. He also wrote that he regrets not fighting harder to keep Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the old rule that forced gay people to hide their sexuality completely while serving.
At the same time, he keeps talking about how soldiers need to look “handsome” and have strong, perfect bodies. He pushes strict beauty standards and puts his troops through intense drills meant to push out anyone he sees as weak.
Because of all this, people were stunned when he announced a list of new military operations with names that sound like they came straight out of a parody novel.
Operation Rough Rider was described as defending freedom of navigation for U.S. ships. Operation Midnight Hammer was meant to target Iran’s nuclear sites. Operation Southern Spear was about going after narco-terrorists.
Trump added a statement saying these missions show “peace through strength.”
But the internet noticed something immediately. These names sound extremely sexual and unintentionally very, very gay. People joked that they sound like titles from adult shops rather than military plans.
So what actually happened here? Nobody knows for sure. Maybe someone came up with these names as a joke and assumed Hegseth would never approve them. Or maybe Hegseth himself thought they sounded tough and didn’t notice how they came across to everyone else. The online reactions showed people couldn’t believe these were real.
Some people even joked that maybe he is dealing with some deep inner conflict, and this strange mix of harsh anti-gay comments and very suggestive military names is the result.
Whatever the truth is, the situation has left a lot of people amused, confused, and wondering how these names ever made it through.