US Defense Secretary Hegseth plans to reduce the highest ranks within the military

On Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers, intensifying cuts at the Pentagon that have unsettled the Department of Defense at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Hegseth has consistently expressed his belief that the upper echelons of the military are overly populated. The former Fox News host has swiftly taken action to transform the department, dismissing senior generals and admirals in an effort to advance Trump’s national security policies and eliminate diversity initiatives he deems discriminatory.

In a memo first reported by Reuters, Hegseth indicated that there would also be a minimum 20% cut in the number of general officers in the National Guard, along with an additional 10% reduction among general and flag officers throughout the military. ‘An increase in generals and admirals does not equate to greater success,’ Hegseth stated in a video shared on X. ‘This is not a punitive measure against high-ranking officers; that could not be further from the truth,’ he clarified.

He noted that he collaborated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this initiative, aiming to ‘maximize strategic readiness.’ During his confirmation hearing, he remarked on the ‘inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield.’ At that time, he acknowledged there were 44 four-star positions within the military. Since then, he has dismissed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy’s top admiral, and the director of the National Security Agency.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island expressed skepticism regarding these plans, accusing Hegseth of a history of unjustly firing military leaders. ‘While I have always supported efficiency within the Department of Defense, significant personnel decisions should be grounded in facts and analysis rather than arbitrary percentages,’ stated Reed, the leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

planned cuts

In a video released on Monday, Hegseth indicated that the planned cuts would be implemented with care yet swiftly. The specific positions affected remain uncertain. The Pentagon is currently reviewing its global operations, and Hegseth is contemplating the possibility of merging certain combatant commands, which are responsible for various global operations and are overseen by four-star generals.

One potential merger could involve the U.S. African Command and the U.S. European Command, which would eliminate one four-star position. Another possibility is the consolidation of U.S. Southern Command, which manages operations in Central and South America, with U.S. Northern Command.

Hegseth may also evaluate other four-star roles, such as the commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific and the commander of U.S. forces in Korea. The recent turmoil at the Pentagon has not only affected uniformed personnel; three senior officials have been dismissed in the past few weeks, following a leak investigation initiated by Hegseth’s chief of staff on March 21.

Among those let go was Dan Caldwell, a long-time associate of Hegseth and one of his most trusted advisors, who was removed from the Pentagon last week over leaks he denies being responsible for. Additionally, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick, was also dismissed.