Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce on Wednesday that the Pentagon will cut 20 percent of positions reserved for generals and admirals. The new target doubles the 10 percent reduction he ordered in 2025, as part of a broader effort to shrink the military’s senior ranks.
As reported by ABC News, citing two U.S. officials, Hegseth is expected to announce the move during a “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. He will use the speech to outline his agenda for the force over the coming year.
The address follows Hegseth’s appearance at Quantico last year, when he summoned the military’s top brass from around the world. During that speech, he railed against what he framed as declining standards, declaring there would be “no more beardos” and “no more fat generals.”
This year’s Quantico audience looks a lot different
Much of last year’s speech was also devoted to culture-war grievances, with Hegseth declaring, “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses.” This year, commanders were asked to nominate mostly junior and mid-ranking troops to attend, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Nominees are expected to include high-performing service members, such as troops recognized for major achievements or winners of military competitions. Those selected must also meet military fitness and body fat standards, a routine requirement for official travel and major events.
It is unclear exactly how the new cuts will be carried out, or whether such a dramatic reduction amid the Iran war would disrupt day-to-day operations. The services have already been consolidating commands and organizations, allowing some positions previously held by two generals or admirals to be overseen by one.
Some commands could also be downgraded rather than eliminated outright. The services have been directed to complete the cuts, which could affect dozens of roles, by January, and there are currently 841 active-duty flag officers.
When Hegseth announced the first round of cuts in 2025, he said in a video posted on X, “More generals and admirals does not equal more success.” He described the effort as a deliberative process to maximize strategic readiness rather than a move to punish high-ranking officers.
According to USNI News, his 2025 memo, framed under the banner of “less generals, more G.I.s,” called for a 20 percent cut to four-star officers in the active force and a 20 percent cut to general officers in the Army and Air National Guard. It also called for a review of the Unified Command Plan, which Hegseth described as the most comprehensive since the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986.
The new announcement comes after a series of removals of senior officers under Hegseth, who has not publicly explained the rationale for many of them. Those removed include Gen. Randy George as the Army’s top officer, Gen. CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations.
Before leaving the administration in September, then-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll reportedly warned the White House that the removals were thinning the Army’s leadership ranks. He told President Donald Trump the moves were leaving the service with a smaller pool of experienced officers to fill future senior commands. The report surfaced in the same news cycle as a viral account of a handshake job offer falling through.
Published: Sep 30, 2026 12:00 pm