Calling it a blow against bloated bureaucracy within the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a 20% reduction in four-star generals and admirals.
The memo signed by Hegseth calls for cutting at least 7 of the military’s 37 four-star positions, representing the most significant leadership restructuring in decades.
The order also mandates a 20% reduction in National Guard general officers and a 10% cut in the roughly 900 general and flag officers across all military branches.
The decisive move targets top brass, “removing redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.”
Hegseth has also been outspoken about the politicization of military leadership, which has prioritized woke ideology over combat readiness during the previous administration.
“I would say over a third are actively complicit, and then you have a lot of grumblers who are sort of going along, trying to resist the nonsense as much as they can, but they’re not fundamentally changing it,” Hegseth stated.
“And so they’ll do any social justice, gender, climate, extremism crap because it gets them checked to the next level,” he added.
The Pentagon is examining redundant force structures as potential targets for consolidation, including possibly merging European Command and African Command.
These changes align with the Trump administration’s broader effort to shrink federal government bureaucracy and redirect resources toward actual defense capabilities.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has already made significant changes to military leadership, including firing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Navy chief.
The administration has framed these efforts as a commitment to restoring a fighting force focused on winning wars rather than appeasing political interests in Washington.
The Defense Secretary has criticized senior military leaders for abandoning their core mission in favor of chasing promotions by embracing progressive agendas that have nothing to do with defending America.
Many service members have privately cheered these changes, having grown frustrated with leadership that seemed more concerned with diversity statistics than combat effectiveness.
Hegseth is also seeking nominations to replace the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, signaling a complete overhaul of military legal leadership.
These changes come as military recruitment has struggled after years of focusing on social experiments rather than combat readiness and patriotic service.
This leadership purge has been met with resistance from Democrats in Congress, who benefited from military brass’ previous political alignment.
However, many rank-and-file service members and veterans have expressed relief that the Pentagon is finally returning to its primary mission: defending America rather than advancing a progressive social agenda.
