U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will cut the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals by 20 percent, a Pentagon official told Al Jazeera, in a change affecting senior leadership across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Hegseth is expected to announce the decision on Wednesday during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where he will deliver his “State of the Force” address before an audience of junior officers and enlisted personnel, the official said.
The plan targets a 20 percent reduction in general and flag officer billets across all services and would double the cuts Hegseth announced last year, Fox News reported.
The announcement is scheduled to come during the Wednesday address at Quantico, The Hill reported.
In his Quantico address a year ago, Hegseth told an audience of ranking military officers and senior enlisted advisers that “more leadership changes will be made” and said “fat generals and admirals” were roaming the halls of the Pentagon, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine, which described the new plan as a deepening of cuts to senior officers.
The reduction is the latest step in the Trump administration’s effort to reshape the military’s leadership and personnel policies, according to reporting by outlets briefed on the plan.