Hegseth doubles brass cuts to free the warfighter

One year ago Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Marine Corps Base Quantico and warned those unsupportive of his reforms to step aside. On Wednesday he returns to the same base to deliver his State of the Force address and announce a sharper cut: a 20 percent reduction in the positions reserved for generals and admirals across the Army, Navy, Air Force and joint organizations.

The services have until January 1, 2027, to finish the work. The new target doubles the 10 percent overall reduction in general and flag officer positions Hegseth ordered last year. That earlier directive had already required a 20 percent cut in active-duty four-star posts and a 20 percent cut in National Guard general officers.

Federal law authorizes 857 active-duty general and admiral billets. Public personnel data showed 851 of those jobs filled as of July 31. A 20 percent reduction would remove about 170, leaving around 680. The plan hits billets—the jobs designated for stars—rather than an automatic removal of every officer now holding the rank. Some positions will disappear. Others will be downgraded. In a September 16 memo approving cuts to the joint pool, Hegseth directed officials to write O-6 requirements so colonels and Navy captains can fill the downgraded jobs.

When he rolled out the first round in May 2025, Hegseth stated the purpose without flourish. “This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers,” he said. “This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.” He posted a video announcing the order under the line “Less Generals, more GIs,” saying it would “shift resources from bloated headquarter elements to our warfighters.” The May directive called the cuts a critical step in “removing redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.” It added that the force “must cultivate exceptional senior leaders who drive innovation and operational excellence, unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers that hinder their growth and effectiveness.”

Morgan Phillips of Fox News reported that Hegseth approved the new reduction plans for the Army, Navy, Air Force and the joint pool earlier this month, citing memos seen by Fox News Digital, and that the State of the Force address will lay out the 20 percent target. Tara Copp of The Washington Post wrote that officials said Hegseth is expected to announce reductions of as much as 20 percent. Rachel S. Cohen of Federal News Network reported a Pentagon official confirmed the Fox account was accurate. Filip Timotija of The Hill reported a Pentagon official likewise confirmed the 20 percent cut to admiral and general slots.

The earlier May 2025 order would have taken the roughly 900 general and flag officers then counted down below 720, and would have moved the 37 four-star generals and admirals counted as of 2023 to fewer than 30. The new 20 percent billet target expands that work across the full senior structure. Hegseth has long argued the department is too top-heavy, more occupied with regulating troops than enabling them. Since January 2025 he has fired or blocked promotions for more than 80 generals and admirals, according to a New York Times tally cited in Federal News Network coverage. Helene Cooper of The New York Times reported the May four-star order; Ellen Mitchell of The Hill covered the same memo and the accompanying video. The Hill also noted Hegseth’s position that military leaders serve at the pleasure of the president.

Skeptics counter that pulling seasoned officers out of authority strips the force of experience and oversight while the United States continues operations against Iran and competes with China in the Pacific. Federal News Network reported that downsizing may require changes to regulations and statutes that set the rank required for certain posts, and that lower-ranking officials could find it harder to sit in meetings or make decisions once handled by officers wearing stars. That is the strongest form of the objection the record carries.

Republican lawmakers have raised related concerns about personnel moves already made. In a July Senate hearing, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, chair of the Appropriations Committee, objected to the removal of senior officers and the blocking of promotions. “I find this deeply troubling,” Collins said. “These are men and women who volunteered to serve our country and swore an oath to support and defend our Constitution.” In an April hearing, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, warned that Hegseth’s firing of Gen. Randy George, then the Army’s chief of staff, would have a “chilling effect” on how the armed services operate. Spokespeople for the congressional defense committees did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new billet reductions.

The September 16 joint-pool memo supplies the practical answer Hegseth is offering. Identify the excess posts, write the O-6 billet descriptions, and let colonels and captains do work once reserved for stars. Headquarters shrink. Decision authority moves closer to the units that deploy. Taxpayers fund fewer layers between the civilian leadership and the troops who fight. The structure, not a personal purge, is the instrument.