Hegseth, Arsenal of Freedom Tour Look to Space From 'Mile High City'

View Online Hegseth, Arsenal of Freedom Tour Look to Space From 'Mile High City' Feb. 23, 2026 |  By Matthew Olay Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the War Department's Arsenal of Freedom tour arrived in Denver — also known as the "Mile High City" — today, where the secretary and his delegation visited a pair of commercial space companies in the city's suburbs.   The nationwide tour, which Hegseth launched seven weeks ago, shows the department's support for the defense industrial base by delivering a call to action to revitalize America's manufacturing might and reenergize the nation's workforce.  Hegseth first delivered remarks to a crowd of roughly 150 workers at True Anomaly, a small but rapidly advancing upstart defense technology company that specializes in space security and superiority for the U.S. government, allies and commercial partners.   During his remarks there, Hegseth emphasized how vital young and enthusiastic companies such as True Anomaly are to reenergizing an American industrial base that he sees as having grown lethargic in years past.  "You guys are the engineers, the builders, the designers put those systems in the hands of warfighters. … We quite literally can't deter that next conflict without companies like True Anomaly. … And we can't just rely on the big … that have been around a long time," Hegseth told the group.  He added that, while large contractors contribute great things to the defense industrial base, the War Department simply can't continue to rely on just a handful of companies having a stronghold on Pentagon spending.   "We have to open the aperture and ensure that scrappy companies that have great ideas and the best and brightest are able to compete on a level playing field," Hegseth said, adding that one of the "biggest wars" the department is currently fighting is trying to cut through all of the bureaucratic red tape to ensure that the best capabilities are getting to the warfighters as quickly as possible.  "It is an unrelenting war of attrition inside bureaucracy that we intend to win and win decisively; because we're the ones that get in the way of companies like this one having an opportunity to compete," Hegseth said.  "I just want the best," he added.  Following the first visit, Hegseth traveled to Sierra Space; a large commercial aerospace company focused on building advanced space infrastructure.   During his remarks to roughly 250 Sierra Space workers, Hegseth stressed the strategic importance of the space domain in present and future military conflicts.  "For generations, the battle was fought on land, in the air and subsea. But today, the ultimate high ground — the single most decisive battlefield of this century and centuries to come — is hundreds of miles above our heads," Hegseth told the crowd.   "And right here in Colorado, in the heart of America, you are forging the instruments of absolute and unquestioned space dominance, which is what we require," he added.  During the speech, Hegseth underscored the core, common principles of President Donald J. Trump's agenda — putting America and Americans first, maintaining peace through strength, and embracing common sense — as they relate to revitalizing the industrial base.    "[America and Americans first] means we protect your jobs, your security, and your family's future before we even think about any foreign country or globalist peacekeeping project. We invest in factories in Colorado, not China," Hegseth told the crowd, adding that he views American strength as being forged by American steel and built by American workers.   In regard to maintaining peace through strength, Hegseth said that the department seeks to bring America's enemies absolute deterrence, and that space is the "ultimate arena" where that strength will be proven.  "Whoever controls space, controls the future fight; it's that simple," Hegseth said, adding that the War Department is investing heavily in the space domain with the passage of recent funding.  "We will spend every dime of it wisely; we're already doing so," he said.  Regarding common sense, Hegseth told the crowd that it tells us the U.S. cannot project power from a hollowed out industrial base, and that in order to be victorious in wartime, warfighters must be equipped with only the best, most lethal materiel.  "That's why we're on this Arsenal of Freedom tour; we're sending a clear, sustained demand signal to American industry that we want the best and we need it yesterday," Hegseth said.   Hegseth finished his remarks at each stop by reminding the personnel that War Department leadership is there to support them.  "We stand shoulder to shoulder with you, because we cannot deter the next conflict — a conflict that will ultimately be won or lost on the frontier of space — without the skill, the grit and the patriotism that I know exists in this room," Hegseth said.  "Keep building, keep innovating and go fast," he added.   Prior to making his two industry stops, Hegseth visited Buckley Space Force Base in the Denver suburb of Aurora, where he administered the oath of enlistment to 40 young recruits — something that Hegseth has been sure to do on every Arsenal of Freedom stop thus far.  Hegseth explained to the recruits, their families and service members in attendance that he wanted to prioritize conducting enlistments on the tour because it's those very young men and women who are committing to serve their country that will be using the systems and capabilities the DIB provides.  "Those systems are not effective unless they have qualified, trained Americans behind them, using them properly and swiftly with violence of action," Hegseth said, continuing to say that, ultimately, the men and women who volunteer to serve their country are "the most potent, powerful weapon we have."   "When society talks about elites or celebrities … or who we should look up to, I think the country should look right here," he added.

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