The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has confirmed plans to cut 20% of generals and admirals and declared “no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps” would be tolerated inside the country’s military.

Delivering his latest extraordinary attack on diversity, and dismissing reports of low morale within the US armed forces as “false claims”, Hegseth also suggested they were retaining service personnel at “record” rates.

The defense secretary pointed to those onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, following concern over mental health and supply issues on the aircraft carrier, which was deployed for almost nine months. About “80% of the force” onboard was retained, he said.

Addressing lower-ranking troops at the Marine Corps Base on Wednesday, Hegseth boasted about the anti-diversity policies in the Pentagon pushed by Donald Trump’s administration.

“The only focus, as you know, in your formations should be training, readiness, accountability, discipline and lethality,” Hegseth said. “And when you pursue those things, you don’t have to walk on eggshells … the complainers, the ideologues and the poor performers are no longer in the driver’s seat.”

He added: “But it’s worth saying again, so the fake news understands it. We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors.”

Generals “who clung to the woke department, or seemed to think civilian control of the military is simply a suggestion, well, they no longer work here”, Hegseth said.

Eight US navy personnel assigned to the Lincoln attempted suicide since the start of their lengthy deployment as part of the US war on Iran, it emerged last week.

Hegseth appeared to reference the carrier while attacking the media on Wednesday, insisting there are “disingenuous headlines about deployment lengths, patently false claims of low troop morale, or flat-out propaganda, as if it’s written by our adversaries”.

The crew of the Lincoln, which was at sea for 286 days, disembarked on 1 September in a Thai resort city. The crew had been scheduled to wrap their deployment in May, but it was extended amid Trump’s war on Iran.

During his speech in Quantico, Virginia, the defense secretary announced several new initiatives, including a a new Pentagon project which will see Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey – a top Trump donor and ally – and Newt Gingrich, the former US House speaker, work with the department to study the “future of warfare”.

The Guardian previously reported on how Luckey’s company, Anduril Inudstries, a major defense technology company, has received billions in government contracts over the last year.

Hegseth also took aim at Ivy League universities and liberal arts colleges during his speech – which Trump has targeted routinely since he returned to office. The defense secretary branded the institutions as “DEI-worshipping woke factories”. Notably, Hegseth is a graduate of Harvard and Princeton Universities – both members of the Ivy League.

Hegseth said the Pentagon would now partner with other institutions as part of its educational pipeline. Some of these schools, such as Liberty University and Hillsdale College, are known for conservative values.

Others joining the partnership are Louisiana State University, Mississippi University and Tuskegee University.