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Secretary Hegseth Addresses ROTC Cadets and New Recruits in Knoxville on the Send Me Tour, Oct. 17, 2026

October 17, 2026 · Department of War · 0:22:41

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What happened

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke to ROTC cadets and military recruits at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on October 17, 2026, during a stop on his “Send Me Tour,” in full remarks published by the Department of War (the DVIDS record of the same address, “Hegseth Addresses Cadets in Knoxville,” runs 22:37). Before attending the Tennessee–Alabama football game, the Secretary also administered the oath of enlistment to young men and women representing all service branches and the Tennessee National Guard, according to the War Department’s account of the visit.

“For 251 years, Americans raised their right hand and said, ‘send me;’ send me to fight the redcoats, send me to fight the Nazis, send me to fight the communists, send me to fight the Islamists,” he said. “And now, you’ve said, ‘send me’ to defend [your] nation, to fight against whatever threatens our shores, our interests and our people,” as the department’s account records. He told the recruits they are in the business of peacemaking through strength: “If there’s one entity that should win the Nobel Peace Prize every single year, it actually should be the United States military,” he said, as MilitarySpot reported from the visit.

Why it matters

The Knoxville stop is the recruiting-facing half of Hegseth’s public program: the “Send Me” framing he has carried to cadets and recruits across the tour — service as volunteering for the nation’s work, and the military itself as the standing instrument of peace through strength — delivered to the two audiences the department most needs to keep volunteering.

Sources: U.S. Department of War, “Secretary Hegseth FULL REMARKS to ROTC cadets and military recruits at the University of Tennessee” (official upload, embedded above); DVIDS, “Hegseth Addresses Cadets in Knoxville,” October 17, 2026; War Department account of the visit as published by the Knoxville Daily Sun and MilitarySpot, October 2026. Remarks as delivered.