Hegseth to eliminate 20% of general and admiral positions

Investing.com -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to reduce the number of senior positions designated for generals and admirals by 20%, Bloomberg reported Tuesday citing an unnamed Pentagon official.

The directive will permit certain positions to be filled by lower-ranking officers, including Army colonels or Navy captains, rather than generals and admirals.

Hegseth will announce the plans during his "State of the Force" address on Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The Wednesday speech marks one year since Hegseth held a similar event at Quantico, where he and President Donald Trump delivered remarks to a gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world. At that September 2025 address, the secretary presented his vision for a force centered on physical standards, modifications to disciplinary processes, and the removal of what he termed "woke" personnel and policies.

The September 2025 address followed several firings of senior uniformed officers and a May 2025 memorandum that directed reductions in the number of generals and admirals throughout the force. Hegseth has also dismissed or prevented the promotions of multiple female and non-White generals and senior officers.

This year's audience will consist of more junior service members selected to attend based on body shape and grooming standards.

Congress determines by law the total number of troops in each military service across both active and reserve components.

Original Article

You May Also Be Interested In

• Fed's Williams: No Need For Urgency After Sept. Rate Increase
• Fed’s Goolsbee says prolonged inflation above target is "playing with fire"
• OpenAI launches Dots AI agents powered by GPT-6 Astra