Hegseth to Slash 20 Percent of Generals and Flag Officers, Deepening Cuts to Top Ranks

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth plans to announce Sept. 30 a directive to slash the number of general and flag officers across the U.S. military by 20 percent, Pentagon officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Hegseth is doubling down on the 10 percent cut to general and flag officers he ordered last year, which he dubbed the “less generals, more GIs” policy.

Hegseth’s announcement will come during a “State for the Force” address. The cuts will reduce the number of general and flag officer billets, meaning some moves may play out over time, rather than swiftly removing 20 percent of generals and admirals. 

Fox News first reported the new cuts and details of the planned announcement. Pentagon officials later confirmed that account.

The “State of the Force” speech comes a year after Hegseth convened senior U.S. military leaders from commands around the globe to outline his philosophy for running the Pentagon—an extraordinarily rare gathering.

The services are expected to make the cuts by Jan. 1, 2027. How reductions will be apportioned among the services is, so far, unclear.

Generals and admirals make up less than 1 percent of the military. According to the Congressional Research Service data, there were about 850 general officer positions in 2023. Some of those positions were unfilled at the time, as is the case today.

The maximum number of general officers allowed per service is set by law, though those caps do not apply to joint positions. The law also sets a minimum number of general officers in joint jobs.

The Air Force has roughly 250 generals. The Space Force has roughly 30 generals, and had plans to continue to grow that number.

In Hegseth’s Quantico address a year ago, he told the ranking military officers and senior enlisted advisers in the audience that “more leadership changes will be made” and asserted that “fat generals and admirals” were roaming the halls of the Pentagon.

A top Democratic lawmaker complained the cuts were arbitrary and Congress had not been consulted, and noted that Hegseth has removed senior officers from their roles without explanation.

“Efficiency and streamlining in the military are worthy goals, but the size and structure of our military’s senior officer corps are matters in which Congress has a fundamental role,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Article I of the Constitution assigns Congress the power to raise and support the armed forces and to make rules for their government. Reshaping the senior leadership of the world’s most powerful military is precisely the kind of decision that requires consultation with and justification to Congress.”

The new cuts are not the only step Hegseth is taking this week to reshape the military establishment. In a Sept. 29 memo released by the Pentagon, Hegseth directed military service academies to drop tenured positions for civilian professors. Hegseth said the move was needed because “civilian academic norms … dilute our focus on lethality.”

Critics have said the Pentagon’s efforts to reform the institutions could compromise the academic independence and the quality of education at the service academies, which include the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 

USAFA only recently began offering tenure to civilian faculty.

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard as a major and has cast himself as a Pentagon chief who relates to rank-and-file troops.

His previous directive to reduce general officers mandated a 20 percent reduction in Active four-stars, a 20 percent cut in National Guard generals, and a 10 percent cut in overall general and flag officers. Hegseth has said that cuts were needed to reduce bureaucracy.