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United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is preparing to reduce the number of positions set aside for generals and admirals across the armed forces by 20 percent, according to a Pentagon official who spoke to Al Jazeera. The move represents a significant restructuring of the military's top leadership echelon and would touch every branch of the services, including the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The announcement is expected to come on Wednesday, when Hegseth visits Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to deliver what his office has billed as a "State of the Force" address. According to the official, the speech will be given in front of junior officers and enlisted personnel rather than a gathering of senior commanders, a setting that appears designed to underscore the secretary's stated focus on the rank and file.
Citing Pentagon officials, the Associated Press reported that Hegseth will instruct all military services to double a 10 percent reduction he ordered last year to the roughly 800 flag and general officer posts. That would bring the total cut to 20 percent, with the drawdown scheduled to be finished by January 1, 2027. The scope of the reduction means the change would be felt across the leadership structure rather than confined to a handful of commands.
Fox News reported that the reductions could apply to any one-star general or above, as well as officers holding equivalent rank in the Navy. The Washington Post, meanwhile, noted that the cuts could reshape the career trajectories of hundreds of current and rising military leaders, coming on the heels of numerous firings and denied promotions within the officer corps.
The planned reduction is the latest chapter in a broader pattern of turnover at the highest levels of the US military. Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump and Hegseth have dismissed or pushed into retirement more than two dozen military leaders. Among those removed was General Randy George, the Army's top uniformed officer, who was fired in April.
The administration also dismissed the only two women serving as four-star officers, along with several other senior female officers. Additional top officials have departed through retirements and resignations, including Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who stepped down this month following repeated clashes with Hegseth.
When Hegseth first launched his effort to trim the top tiers of the military, he contended that the goal was to eliminate "redundant force structure to optimise and streamline leadership." In a memo released in May 2025, he elaborated that his objective was to free the armed forces from "unnecessary bureaucratic layers."
Around the same time last year, Hegseth also declared an end to what he described as "woke" culture in the military and issued new directives for troops, including "gender-neutral" or "male-level" standards for physical fitness.
The announced cuts have drawn sharp criticism from Capitol Hill. Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voiced concern in a statement, arguing that any elimination of senior leadership positions must be carried out in consultation with Congress. He warned that the planned reductions "should alarm every American."
Reed said Congress has been explicit with the secretary that he must consult the legislative body and explain his reasoning for removing senior officers and holding up promotions. "To date, we have not received satisfactory answers," he said.
The senator also pointed to the operational demands on the armed forces, noting that the military is conducting major operations around the world and that the force is already under considerable strain. His comments suggest that lawmakers may challenge the reductions on both procedural and strategic grounds.
Under federal law, the number of general officer positions is formally established by statute. However, the administration retains the ability to leave those positions unfilled if it declines to submit nominees to Congress, a mechanism that could allow the cuts to take effect without immediate legislative action.
The timing of the announcement places the reduction within a wider debate over civil-military relations and the politicization of the officer corps. Critics have argued that sustained purges of senior leaders risk hollowing out institutional expertise at a moment of heightened global tension, while supporters of the effort contend that the Pentagon's top ranks have grown bloated and resistant to reform.
For now, the immediate question is how the services will implement a 20 percent reduction in roughly 800 authorized positions while maintaining the command structure needed for ongoing operations. The answer is expected to emerge after Hegseth's address on Wednesday and in the months leading up to the January 2027 completion deadline.
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