War Secretary Pete Hegseth plans a 20 percent reduction in general and admiral positions, doubling last year's cuts to streamline senior ranks and push power down the chain of command.
Fox News reported that Hegseth will unveil the plan during his State of the Force address Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, continuing his drive to strip unnecessary layers from the Pentagon's top ranks.
The reductions target billets, the positions set aside for generals and admirals, rather than an across-the-board purge of officers now serving. Services must finish the work by Jan. 1, 2027.
Hegseth approved the plans for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the military's joint pool earlier this month. The move doubles the 10 percent overall cut in general and flag officer positions he ordered last year.
Hegseth has framed the effort in plain terms: "less generals, more GIs." The goal is to push resources and authority toward troops nearer the fight and clear out bureaucratic layers that slow decisions.
A War Department source said at least some of the positions will be downgraded instead of eliminated. In a Sept. 16 memo on the joint pool cuts, Hegseth directed officials to set O-6 requirements for those jobs. That lets colonels and Navy captains fill roles once reserved for flag officers.
The services have been told to carry out the plans on the 2027 timeline. Hegseth is also expected to lay out broader priorities in the Quantico speech. Some troops may join him for a workout tied to the visit.
Last year Hegseth ordered a 10 percent overall reduction in general and flag officer positions. Separate directives called for 20 percent cuts in active-duty four-star posts and in National Guard general officers.
He announced those steps in May 2025 and stressed the process was careful, not punitive.
Hegseth said at the time:
"This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers."
He added:
"This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks."
Just The News reported the earlier four-star directive aimed to cut at least 20 percent of those top slots, alongside the 20 percent National Guard reduction and 10 percent cut across general and flag officers. The outlet noted roughly 900 general and flag officers in the force, with 37 four-stars as of 2023. The steps fit wider Trump administration efforts to trim federal redundancy and waste, including work tied to the Department of Government Efficiency, and followed the replacement of Joint Chiefs Chairman CQ Brown Jr. with Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.
Hegseth tied the changes to combat power. He said the Department of Defense is committed to ensuring the lethality of U.S. forces to deter threats and win decisively when needed, and that senior leaders must drive innovation "unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers." He also said the directive helps keep the U.S. the "most lethal fighting force in the world" and delivers on President Donald Trump's "peace through strength" commitment.
Breitbart reported Hegseth instructed the military to shed 20 percent of four-star general officers and directed the National Guard to remove 20 percent of its top officers, plus the additional 10 percent cut among general and flag officers. That outlet put the total near 800 general officers, with only 44 four-stars, and noted the Army alone held 219 general officers including eight four-stars, numbers set in law.
In memo language cited there, Hegseth said he would remove "redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership" and free the military from "unnecessary bureaucratic layers." He also described related personnel moves as "a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take."
Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat, criticized the earlier actions as an effort to politicize the military by targeting generals who disagreed. Hegseth's public statements have kept the focus on readiness, lethality, and pushing authority downward rather than on personalities.
Wednesday's address lands exactly one year after Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to the same Quantico base. He has used that venue to set expectations for senior leaders, including standards on fitness, grooming, and uniforms for those attending high-level gatherings.
Military commands were told to send top-performing service members who meet body-composition rules and keep "impeccable" standards. The pattern is consistent: fewer headquarters layers, higher expectations for those who remain, and more weight given to the troops who actually close with the enemy.
Exact counts of how many billets will vanish versus how many will simply drop a rank have not been released. The memos seen by reporters direct the services to execute and finish by the start of 2027. What is clear is the direction, double the earlier overall cut and keep pressure on the top-heavy structure.
Taxpayers fund the force to win wars, not to maintain an ever-growing bench of flag officers. Hegseth is treating that as a duty, not a slogan.
