Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid into a reporter who asked why he hadn’t specifically congratulated the female pilots who had been a part of the United States’ recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities after they stated: “The early messages that you sent out only congratulated ‘the boys.'” Hegseth, in the hours after the mission had been completed, touted the success of “our boys on those bombers” – and The New York Times, among others, complained that not all of those involved had been male. Times Pentagon reporter John Ismay, most notably, wrote, “In the briefing, Hegseth referred to B-2 pilots as ‘our boys on those bombers,’ yet both men and women have been trained to fly them.” When that topic came up during Thursday morning’s briefing, Hegseth bowed his head slightly, laughing, before responding. WATCH: . @SecDef gave the PERFECT response when asked “Why not acknowledge female pilots that participated, early messages congratulated the boys?” pic.twitter.com/BAqwj6bfdV — DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 26, 2025 “Why not acknowledge the female pilots that also participated?” the reporter asked. “The early messages that you sent out only congratulated ‘the boys.'” “So, when I say something like ‘our boys in bombers’ — see, this is the kind of thing the press does,” Hegseth replied. “Of course, the Chairman mentioned a female bomber pilot. Fantastic. She’s fantastic. She’s a hero. I want more female bomber pilots.” “I hope the men and women of our country sign up to do such brave and audacious things,” he continued. “But when you spin it as because I say ‘our boys in bombers’ as a common phrase – I’ll keep saying things like that, whether they’re men or women. I’m very proud of that female pilot, just like I’m very proud of those male pilots.” “I don’t care if it’s a male or a female in the cockpit, and the American people don’t care,” he concluded. “But it’s the obsession with race and gender in this department that’s changed priorities, and we don’t do that anymore. We don’t play your little games.”