Hegseth to cut 20 percent of admirals, generals in major Pentagon overhaul: Report
The move doubles last year’s reduction target and would leave some billets downgraded instead of eliminated, Pentagon officials said.
- On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce a 20% reduction in billets for generals and admirals, directing the Army, Navy, Air Force, and joint pool to complete implementation by Jan. 1, 2027.
- Hegseth approved these reduction plans earlier this month, arguing shrinking senior leadership removes unnecessary bureaucracy; the new target doubles the 10% reduction he ordered last year.
- Defense Department memos indicate the initiative targets specific positions rather than individual officers, with some billets downgraded to allow colonels and Navy captains to fill roles previously reserved for flag officers.
- During his address at Quantico, Virginia, Hegseth plans to update junior service members on his priorities, stating, 'This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers.'
- The Defense Department is implementing battlefield-style assessments for promotion candidates alongside these reductions, reshaping how senior leaders are selected and evaluated in the coming cycle.
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berlingske.dkEvery fifth general and admiral has been cut, says Hegseth. The reduction should be completed by the end of the year.
The US Defense Minister claims "necessary" cuts among the generals and admirals, a statement overturned by the Pentagon's figuresThe US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday he reduced by 20% the number of generals and admirals in the army, massive cuts that he described as "a necessity for a long time."A first 10% reduction in the number of generals and admirals, the highest ranks of the US Army, had been announced in May 2025.
Hegseth Cutting Generals and Admirals by 20 Percent
CBS News Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a speech on Wednesday that the Pentagon is eliminating roughly 1 in 5 generals and admirals during the second Trump administration through firing or position cuts, following through on Hegseth’s pledge to fundamentally change how the Pentagon operates. Hegseth said he’s aimed for the department to be “unrelenting, unapologetic, and uncompromising” in its mission to win. Generals who “clung to the…
Hegseth confirms that the US military will cut 20% of its generals and admirals - WXXV News 25
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and BEN FINLEY QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. military will cut 20% of its generals and admirals as he delivered what he is calling his “State of the Force” address. Hegseth was speaking to junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the second year in a row that he has given such an address. This time, the U.S. military is seve…
The U.S. Secretary of Defense uses the Red Pencil and evaporates the number of generals and admirals. It is not the only change he calls in his speech on "The Situation of the Armed Forces."
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, announced on Wednesday that the United States reduced the number of generals and admirals in the American Armed Forces by 20%, to a degree that, according to him, aims to promote accountability. According to Hegseth, the courts were directed to officers who did not adhere to their efforts to ensure that the Armed Forces concentrate on war, and not on the progressive policies of previous governments.
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