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Politics

Hegseth set to double Pentagon cuts, ordering 20% reduction in general and admiral posts

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce a 20% cut in positions reserved for generals and admirals during a 'State of the Force' address at Quantico on Wednesday, doubling the 10% reduction he ordered last year.

By Tom Ellery · · 2 min read

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a 20 per cent cut in the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals when he addresses hundreds of junior service members at Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hegseth would say he plans to cut billets for general and flag officers — one- to four-star generals and admirals — by a fifth. That doubles the minimum 10 per cent cut he laid out last year.

Rather than firing serving officers, one official said, the rank of some future jobs would change while other billets would be cancelled outright. Hegseth last year separately ordered a 20 per cent reduction in the number of four-star officers. According to memos reviewed by Fox News, the services have been directed to complete the reductions by 1 January 2027, with some posts downgraded so they can be filled by colonels or Navy captains.

The speech, billed as a “State of the Force” address, comes a year after Hegseth summoned the military’s top brass to Quantico at short notice and denounced “fat generals” and diversity initiatives. President Donald Trump also spoke at that event and floated using deployments to US cities as “training grounds for our military”.

Hegseth has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing senior officers across the military, including the top US general and the Navy’s top admiral, whom he said were part of a broken culture.

Sources

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