Hegseth Touts 'Arsenal of Freedom' and Record Recruiting at Wisconsin Defense Plant Stop
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on October 20, stopping at local small business Riverside Machine and Engineering / Metalcraft on his Arsenal of Freedom Tour, where he delivered a speech and took questions from the press.
Hegseth said reviving the defense industrial base is a core pillar of the national defense strategy, and that modern deterrence relies on the speed of commercial industry and small manufacturers. The company's components go into the F-35 fighter, TPY-2 radars and destroyer radars. He said military recruiting has hit historic levels, with every service — plus Special Forces, pilots, the National Guard and the reserves — meeting goals ahead of schedule for the first time in decades. Asked about his Central Command trip, he said U.S. forces are prepared to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon; on Patriot missiles and Ukraine, he said the U.S. posture is unchanged; asked about a reported bombing of a school in Iran that killed children, he said an investigation is ongoing. Rep. Derrick Van Orden attended the stop.
Related: Missile Defense Agency Raises Raytheon Ceiling to About $2.999 Billion
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 威斯康星州 Eau Claire 市中心。图：Wikimedia Commons「Day Downtown Eau Claire.jpg」，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权。 / Photo: downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Source: Wikimedia Commons ("Day Downtown Eau Claire.jpg"), CC BY-SA 4.0.
