Hegseth Will Cut One-in-Five General and Admiral Positions, Doubling His Push to Thin the Top Ranks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce Wednesday that he will cut general and admiral positions across the military by 20%, effectively doubling the reduction he ordered last year as part of a broader plan to reshape the senior ranks by Jan. 1, 2027.

Hegseth is scheduled to lay out the plan during a “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, according to Pentagon officials cited by several news outlets, including Fox News, which first reported it.

Quantico is the same site where the secretary gathered the United States’ highest ranking generals and admirals on Sept. 30, 2025, pushing the Pentagon’s “warrior ethos” mentality. He also set expectations for senior leaders, telling those who did not support his changes to step aside.

The estimated 20% figure doubles the 10% cut to general and flag officer positions that Hegseth ordered in 2025.

A Pentagon spokesperson told Military.com on Wednesday: “We do not have any advance information on the secretary’s announcement today.”

How the Cuts Could Play Out

Hegseth is proposing a reduction in authorized positions, not an order to immediately remove 20% of the generals and admirals currently serving.

The change reduces billets, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine, meaning some of the moves could play out over time rather than through swift dismissals.

There are 857 general and flag officer positions in the military, according to Congressional Research Service data.

Federal News Network reported that federal law authorizes about 850 active-duty billets. A 20% cut would amount to roughly 170 positions, though the exact number depends on which count is used.

The Pentagon did not answer inquiries of how it would carry out the reductions, or how it would distribute the cuts among the services.

Colonels in Some Generals’ Jobs

Part of the plan would not eliminate senior jobs but downgrade them.

In a memo dated Sept. 16, Hegseth directed officials to set requirements for the rank of colonel, or Navy captain, for general and flag officer positions “identified for downgrade,” according to reports.

That means some posts now held by one-star officers or higher would be reclassified so that colonels could fill them.

The approach suggests the 20% reduction would come through a combination of eliminating some senior billets and downgrading others to lower-ranking positions, rather than removing officers outright.

Building on Last Year’s Cuts

This year’s plan expands an effort Hegseth began in 2025.

That May, he ordered a 10% reduction in overall general and flag officer positions, along with a separate 20% cut to active four-star positions and a 20% cut to the number of general officers in the National Guard.

It is not clear whether all of those earlier reductions have been carried out, meaning the new plan would double a cut whose first phase may not be finished.

Military.com previously reported that Hegseth has reshaped the military’s senior ranks faster than his recent predecessors, removing or replacing several of its highest-ranking officers.

Hegseth has noted that the military has far more senior officers relative to its size than it did generations ago, pointing to about 44 four-star and flag officers today and one general for roughly every 1,400 troops, compared with one for about every 6,000 during World War II.

He has said the changes are not meant to punish officers but aim to streamline leadership.

The cuts have raised questions from some lawmakers and defense analysts, who have asked whether reducing the senior ranks could cost the military decades of experience and oversight. They’ve also inquired whether the reductions are strategic or across the board.