Tipsheet

The Military Times Issued a Breathless Report on Military Hazing. There's Just One Problem

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 26, 2025 10:30 AM

Yesterday, the Military Times posted a story about hazing and bullying in the military. Those are serious allegations, of course, but instead of addressing the legitimate concerns they raise, the implication is that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is behind it. Why? Because Hegseth has pushed for tougher training, a return to rigorous fitness standards, and a revival of the warrior mentality.

Here's more:

When the Pentagon’s top civilian Pete Hegseth told an auditorium full of generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, in September that he felt proscriptions against bullying and hazing were “undercutting commanders and [noncommissioned officers],” the military was already seeing a rise in complaints about these practices.

That’s according to a Defense Department report published in June and obtained by Military Times. The congressionally mandated report, which tracks the reporting and adjudication of hazing and bullying within the armed forces but does not include reports from boot camp and entry-level training, shows that while overall numbers remain small, the Marine Corps continues to be the greatest source of complaints among the services. It also shows that data collection on accountability actions for those found to have perpetrated hazing behaviors is inconsistent. 

In fiscal 2024, the last year for which data is available, troops submitted 138 complaints of hazing, of which 31, or 22%, were substantiated. That’s up from 121 complaints and 29 substantiations the previous year. They also made 1,058 reports of bullying, of which 227, or 21%, were substantiated. That’s up from 932 bullying reports and 175 substantiations in fiscal 2023.

While hazing reports saw an upswing in 2024 after three years of steady decline, bullying complaints, both total and substantiated, have been steadily increasing since 2020.

Keen-eyed readers have probably picked up on the problem with this argument, but if you haven't, here it is: all of these data and reports come during...the Biden administration.

This was a fact the Department of War Rapid Response account was glad to point out.

Who could have predicted that a bunch of woke DEI hires would create a toxic work environment, even in the military? Oh, that's right — everyone.

As it should be.

They really want to go back to having a weak, ill-prepared military.

During the Biden era? Yeah, you were. That's what DEI is all about.

Yes, they are.

They know the data is from the Biden administration, yet they blame Hegseth for the problems. This shouldn't surprise us, however. During the first 100 days of the Trump administration, guess which Cabinet member had 100 percent negative stories about him?

Pete Hegseth.

Despite meeting enlistment goals and restoring pride in the military, it seems the media still can't bring themselves to say anything positive about Hegseth.