Politics
NEW: Hegseth Announces ‘Historic’ Military Reforms
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the U.S. Military will soon be undergoing a massive reduction in the number of general officers across all branches.
In a video statement posted to social media, Hegseth announced the General and Flag Officer Reductions initiative, or as he calls it, the “Less Generals, More GI’s,” reform.
“It’s a historic one, and it’s in keeping with President Trump’s commitment to achieving peace through strength. We’re going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters,” the Defense Secretary said.
Hegseth then provided a brief history lesson on the military’s historic command, noting that during World War II, the U.S. Military consisted of 12 million service members across all branches. “For that 12-million-man element, we had 17 four and five-star generals,” Hegseth explained.
Today, the U.S. Military consists of 2.1 million service members, with 44 four-star and flag officers. In the past, the ratio was one general for every 6,000 troops, while today, it is one general for every 1,400 service members.
“More generals and admirals does not equal more success,” the Defense Secretary continued. “Now this is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. Nothing could be further from the truth. This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with one goal, maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.”
Hegseth further explained the reforms will be enacted under two phases, with the first consisting of a comprehensive review of the nation’s current service structure. In the second phase, the Department of Defense will conduct a strategic review of the unified command plan.
All in all, Hegseth described the plan as the most extensive review of U.S. Military structure since the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. “That was a generational change in combat command structures, planning, training, geographic areas of responsibility, mission, and operational responsibilities,” Hegseth said.
Under phase one, the plan will result in a 20 percent reduction of four-star generals and flag officers for active duty elements, along with a 20 percent reduction of general and flag officers in the National Guard Bureau. Phase two will “produce a minimum of an additional 10 percent reduction of overall and general flag officers throughout the DoD in conjunction with a realignment of the Unified Command Plan,” Hegseth explained.
“It’s going to be done carefully, but it’s going to be done expeditiously. We confront a complex and evolving threat environment, we cannot afford to wait. We’ve got to be lean and mean, and in this case it means general officer reductions.”
Congress is currently tasked with setting the numbers of generals and officers allowed in the U.S. Military. The total number of active-duty general or flag officers is capped at 219 for the Army, 150 for the Navy, 171 for the Air Force, 64 for the Marine Corps and 21 for the Space Force.
