Pete Hegseth to unveil plan cutting top military positions by 20%

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will unveil plans to reduce the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals by 20% in a speech to U.S. service members on Sept. 30, according to Pentagon officials.

The reductions will double the 10% cut to general and flag officer positions that the Pentagon announced last year. Hegseth called the effort "less generals, more GIs."

"This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers," Hegseth said in a video posted to social media in May 2025, describing the cuts as "prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks."

The armed services were instructed to complete the latest cuts by Jan. 1, 2027, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Fox News first reported the plans.

The military had 809 active-duty generals and flag officers as of Sept. 30, 2023, 48 less than the maximum authorized by law, according to the Congressional Research Service. The number of top military leaders as a proportion of the military’s total force has significantly increased over the past six decades.

Hegseth and fellow critics of the large proportion of generals and admirals with a one-star rank or above claim that the increase represents administrative…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/