In his opening speech as the new “Secretary of War” back in September 2025, Pete Hegseth famously promised an end to “stupid rules of engagement.” True to his word, under his leadership the US military has not only committed crimes like blowing up civilian boats in the Caribbean and kidnapping the head of state of Venezuela but bragged about it in social media-ready snuff films.
Still, for Hegseth, not all rules are stupid. His tenure at the War Department is also marked by an obsession with military jargon, fitness standards, and grooming regulations, as he cracks down on the “fat generals” and hirsute soldiers dragging down the warfighter spirit. It’s a strange dance: as the killing becomes more lawless, the rituals and ceremonies become more stringent.
Shocking as it may sound, Hegseth might know what he’s doing. Justifications of war rely on a moral distinction between killing in war and killing outside of war. “Thou shalt not kill,” sure, but war is different. How do we recognize war? Someone kills someone else. How do we determine whether this killing is “in war” or not? This is where the rituals of military life come in.
