Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is giving his “State of the Force” speech on Wednesday at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Va., reprising a session last September in which he berated more than 800 generals and admirals about the need to slim down and be more “lethal.” The gathering will be a lesser version of last year’s production, which included an appearance by President Trump. This time, the generals and admirals have been replaced with lower-ranked troops, and Mr. Trump is not scheduled to attend.

Mr. Hegseth is facing precarious times. He is the public face of the Trump administration’s deeply unpopular war against Iran. Thousands of Iranians and 18 U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict. In one incident, more than 175 civilians were killed when a U.S. airstrike hit a school in southern Iran. Iran has retained its ballistic missile and drone capability, and the U.S. military burned through its munitions.

Mr. Hegseth has not been able to get a Pentagon budget request approved. A Republican congressman is leading a drive to impeach him. He also does not have Senate-confirmed leaders to head the Army. The Pentagon has been secretive about what Mr. Hegseth will say on Wednesday. Last year’s speech was greeted by stone-faced generals and admirals who made sure not to cheer.

“Last year’s Quantico event was a tough test for the military,” said Peter D. Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University. “The president gave a campaign rally speech full of partisan applause lines, and the secretary gave a speech full of critique of his predecessor’s policies. But the senior officers listened respectfully and quietly.”