Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the United States has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20 percent, in a move he said is aimed at “accountability.” Hegseth suggested the cuts targeted officers who failed to get on board with his efforts to ensure the military is focused on war-fighting rather than the “woke” policies of previous administrations, describing the reductions as an “accomplishment.” “The number-crunchers say we fired 10 percent of the generals and admirals across the force,” Hegseth told troops at the Quantico military base, saying: “We’ve also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10 percent.” “So yes, 20 percent reduction across the board,” he said. “The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue.” The address to junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico came a year after a similar speech to top officers in which Hegseth said the U.S. military was too fat, too focused on leftist “woke” ideas, and in need of major shake-up. He said Wednesday that top officers who “responded positively” to the previous speech are “leading newly focused and newly empowered and disciplined formations,” while those who did not “no longer work here.” “We are no longer the woke department, or the weak department,” Hegseth said. “Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors -- just tough, ready, committed troops.” Cutting ‘fat’ Hegseth ordered major cuts to the U.S. military -- including a 10-percent reduction to the overall number of generals and admirals, and a 20-percent decrease in the highest four-star ranks -- in May 2025. There were 831 active duty U.S. generals and admirals as of the end of that month, but Pentagon figures from the end of July 2026 -- the latest available -- showed there were actually more top officers -- a total of 851. Asked to clarify if the 20 percent cuts had been completed or were still ongoing, the Pentagon said: “We have nothing further to provide beyond the secretary’s comments.” During his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Hegseth argued that the Pentagon’s bureaucracy was top-heavy and in need of cuts. “It’s going to be my job, working with those that we hire and those inside the administration, to identify those places where fat can be cut, so it can go toward lethality,” he told lawmakers at the time. Since returning to office early last year, Trump has overseen a purge of top military personnel, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February 2025. Other senior officers pushed out include the heads of the US Army, Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the US Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers. The chief of staff of the Air Force also announced his retirement without explanation just two years into a four-year term, while the head of U.S. Southern Command retired a year into his tenure. Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military. Project co-led by Musk In his speech, Hegseth also announced a new project on “the future of warfare” co-led by Elon Musk, marking the tech billionaire’s return to a role in President Donald Trump’s administration. Hegseth said “Project Meridian” will be “an effort led by America’s best minds to study the future of warfare” under the Pentagon’s top technology official Emil Michael. Musk will be a co-leader alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old Republican former House Speaker. Hegseth said the project’s purpose is to “creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master,” though he stressed the project is not about developing new strategies or policies. The project will include hand-picked private sector leaders and subject matter experts, with findings expected to be completed and submitted within 120 days.
