The “Defense Chiefs Gathering” (reported as the inaugural Western Hemisphere Chiefs of Defense Conference) is a U.S.-hosted meeting of chiefs of defense and senior military representatives from Western Hemisphere countries to discuss shared security priorities and strengthen regional cooperation; it was convened and hosted by the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, with participation and coordination from the U.S. Department of Defense/Joint Staff.
Public reporting says 34 nations from the Western Hemisphere were invited and participated; official press statements and news accounts list ‘‘34 nations’’ but do not publish a full public roster in those releases. (Some articles note invited participants include countries with territories in the hemisphere such as Denmark, Britain and France.)
Hegseth used the term “bad actors” generically; public reporting and Pentagon readouts frame the meeting as addressing criminal and terrorist networks (e.g., narcotics traffickers/narco‑terrorists) and ‘‘external actors undermining regional security,’’ but he did not, in the cited accounts, single out a specific country or named state actor in his remarks.
News accounts and the Joint Chiefs’ readout report that the conference focused on building shared understanding, strengthening cooperation and countering criminal and terrorist organizations; reporters did not cite binding new military commitments announced at the event—rather, participants discussed cooperation, information‑sharing, partnerships and coordinated deterrence approaches (no specific multilateral force, treaty or binding action was reported as adopted).
The inaugural conference took place in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10–11, 2026 (the publicized main day was Feb. 11). U.S. and Joint Chiefs’ statements describe it as the first (inaugural) event; public sources do not yet list a formal schedule of recurring follow‑ups, though the Joint Chiefs’ readout and U.S. statements say the aim is to strengthen ongoing regional cooperation, implying possible future meetings but no confirmed timetable was publicly announced.
In the current U.S. government context the ‘‘Secretary of War’’ appears to be the title used by the article for the civilian head of the War/Defense Department (Pete Hegseth). Public U.S. practice and law vest civilian authority over the military in a Secretary of Defense (or equivalent); responsibilities typically include setting policy, civilian oversight and management of the department. The U.S. federal title ‘‘Secretary of War’’ is not an established contemporary U.S. position—if used here it reflects an administration renaming or reorganization of the defense portfolio; however, official legal authorities, duties and statutory changes (if any) for a re‑titled office were not documented in the news reports and no authoritative public source detailing a statutory renaming and changed authorities was found in available reporting.