WASHINGTON 鈥 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration keeps pushing the services to streamline their top leadership positions.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives for a meeting with Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer and Peru's Minister of Defense Walter Astudillo on Monday at the Pentagon in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press
Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions.
In a memo dated Monday, Hegseth said the cuts will remove 鈥渞edundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.鈥
On top of the cuts to the top-tier four-star generals, Hegseth also directed the military to shed an additional 10% of its general and flag officers across the force, which could include one-star or above or officer of equivalent Navy rank.
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There are about 800 general officers in the military, but only 44 of those are four-star general or flag officers. Hegseth has already directed the firings of more than a half-dozen three- and four-star generals since taking office, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., saying those eliminations were 鈥渁 reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.鈥
Hegseth said the cuts aimed to free the military from 鈥渦nnecessary bureaucratic layers.鈥
The Pentagon is under pressure to slash spending and personnel as part of the broader federal government cuts pushed by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration and ally Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency.
Hegseth last week ordered a sweeping transformation to the Army to 鈥渂uild a leaner, more lethal force,鈥 including merging or closing headquarters, dumping outdated vehicles and aircraft, slashing as many as 1,000 headquarters staff in the Pentagon and shifting personnel to units in the field.
Also last week, the Army confirmed that there will be a military parade on Trump鈥檚 birthday in June, as part of the celebration around the service鈥檚 250th birthday. Officials said it will cost tens of millions of dollars.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives for a meeting with Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer and Peru's Minister of Defense Walter Astudillo on Monday at the Pentagon in Washington.
