US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville on Thursday during the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Week Review brought a message of support and news of pay raises.
“We’ve had this day circled on our calendar in the Pentagon for quite some time,” he told the soldiers. “It is great to be here at Fort Bragg, it is Fort Bragg again. You know there’s nothing wrong with liberty, give me liberty or give me death. I love it, but give me Fort Bragg every day of the week.”
Hegseth, a former US Army National Guard officer, said that as America’s 911, they have the country’s back, and President Donald Trump has their backs and interests in mind with every decision he makes.
He also said that the military would be returning to basics by restoring the warrior ethos, focusing on readiness, training, war-fighting, accountability, standards, and being merit-based, whether black, white, male, or female.
Hegseth also delivered news of pay increases.
“We’re also taking care of our people,” he said. “It’s not just training, it’s not just beans and bullets, it’s families, it’s a historic investment in barracks and housing, and healthcare, and, yes, in pay. It’s a big increase coming for E1 to E4.”
In addition, jump pay, also known as Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP), would be increasing for the first time in 25 years.
“Not only are we increasing jump pay, but for the first time, jump masters who have never been compensated additionally for that additional duty are going to receive an additional $150 a month in incentive pay,” Hegseth said. “So, here’s to our paratroopers, our jump masters, who do the difficult things in difficult places that most Americans can never imagine.”
He also talked about rebuilding the military, and reestablishing deterrence after the “world watched and wondered where American leadership and American strength were” under the Biden administration. He also referenced an attack in the nation’s capital this week in which an anti-Israel suspect killed two Israeli embassy staffers.
“They watched the war that was unleashed in Ukraine or the attacks that happened on October 7th,” Hegseth stated. “That same mentality reverberating last night, sadly, in Washington, DC. We saw the debacle of what happened in Afghanistan. President Trump has said by putting America first, we will reestablish peace through strength, and we will reestablish deterrence, and when I look out at this formation, the eyes of the men and women, and these flags, I see the eyes of deterrence. I see the eyes of American strength.”
According to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), the week has become an annual milestone for the Division as it honors the paratroopers who built the 82nd Airborne Division’s legacy, starting with the Division Run and concluding with a Pass and Review.
