U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth to slash senior-most ranks of military

Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary of defence, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers, deepening cuts at the Pentagon that have shaken the Department of Defense at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Hegseth has long been vocal about how he views the senior-most ranks of the military as too big.

The former Fox News host has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.

In a memo, the contents of which were first reported by Reuters, Hegseth said there will also be a minimum 20% reduction in the number of general officers in the National Guard and an additional 10% reduction among general and flag officers across the military.

“More generals and admirals does not lead to more success,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X.

“This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high ranking officers, nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

He added that he worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this and the goal was “maximizing strategic readiness.”

At his confirmation hearing, he stated there was “an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield.”

At the time, he said there were 44 four-star positions in the military. He has since removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy’s top admiral and the director of the National Security Agency.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he was skeptical of the plans, accusing Hegseth of having a track record of firing military leaders without cause.

“I have always advocated for efficiency at the Department of Defense, but tough personnel decisions should be based on facts and analysis, not arbitrary percentages,” said Reed, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Eliminating the positions of many of our most skilled and experienced officers without sound justification would not create ‘efficiency’ in the military – it could cripple it.”

Careful but expeditious cuts

In his video on Monday, Hegseth said the cuts would be done carefully but “expeditiously.”

It was unclear which positions would be cut. The Pentagon has been carrying out a review of its global footprint and Hegseth has been considering whether to merge some combatant commands, which carry out operations in different parts of the world and are led by four-star officers.

Some potential options could include U.S. African Command merging with U.S. European Command, which would reduce one four-star position.

It could also mean combining U.S. Southern Command, in charge of operations in Central and South America, with U.S. Northern Command.

Other four-star positions Hegseth might look at include the head of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific and head of U.S. forces in Korea.

The upheaval at the Pentagon in the last few months has not been limited to uniformed officials.

Three top officials have been fired in recent weeks, triggered by a leak investigation ordered by Hegseth’s chief of staff on March 21.

The dismissed aides include Dan Caldwell, a longtime colleague of Hegseth’s who became one of his most trusted advisors. He was escorted out of the Pentagon last week over leaks for which he denies responsibility. Also dismissed was Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick.

Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chris Reese, David Gregorio and Lincoln Feast.