US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, May 5, ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers and admirals at the Pentagon. The decision shocked the Department of Defence at the start of President Donald Trump's second term in office. The decision will be implemented across all military branches and comes amid wider efforts to reduce the federal government's size.
The order was given in a memo signed by officers in the National Guard and includes 10% cuts in general and flag officers. These layoffs follow a wave of sackings a few days back, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., and the only two women serving as four-star officers.
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, reported the news agency Reuters. "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." The Pentagon has about 900 general and flag officers, with just 44 holding four-star rank.
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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."