Hegseth Orders Urgent Meeting of Top Generals and Admirals

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered generals and admirals from around the world to gather for an urgent meeting near Washington on Sept. 30. The purpose and timing of the meeting is unclear, even to attendees, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

The directive was sent earlier this week and the meeting is set for Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., south of the Pentagon, next Tuesday morning. 

“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed in a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine on Sept. 25, referring to Hegseth’s new secondary title under an executive order issued earlier this month by the Trump administration.

Officers from across the armed services ordered to the meeting indicated they were not told whether or how to prepare for the meeting.

Speculation about the purpose of the meeting ranges from the unveiling of a new National Defense Strategy to some sort of Pentagon overhaul. 

In May, Hegseth issued a memo directing the Pentagon to slash the number of senior generals and admirals. At least 20 percent of four-star positions would be eliminated under the move, while the number of generals and admirals at all levels—one star and above—would decrease by 10 percent, according to the plan. 

Hegseth also said at the time he was directing a sweeping review of U.S. military commands and staffs, signaling a likely consolidation.

Large gatherings of senior military leaders are not unusual. The Air Force’s periodic CORONA meetings, for example, call together the top generals from across the service to confer on future strategies and policies; a weeklong CORONA meeting was held in June at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., led by Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink.

But most such meetings are scheduled well in advance. Hegseth’s planned Sept. 30 meeting was not, catching admirals and generals by surprise and scrambling schedules.

Hegseth has already had a large impact on top leaders. Since taking office, he has replaced Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chief of Naval Operations Lisa M. Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency director Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin announced last month he would retire around the start of November, just two years into what is normally a four-year term. Officials have not publicly offered a rationale for that move, and a replacement had yet to be nominated Sept. 25.

Spokespeople for the Pentagon offered no details about the Sept. 30 meeting, and did not indicate whether any of the gathering might be broadcast or open to the press.