Hegseth Slashes 20pc of US Generals and Admirals, Calls It Accountability
Hegseth Slashes 20pc of US Generals and Admirals, Calls It Accountability
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the United States has cut its generals and admirals by 20 per cent, describing the reductions as an “accomplishment” aimed at accountability. The Hegseth military leadership cuts target officers who failed to get on board with his drive to keep the military focused on war-fighting rather than the “woke” policies of previous administrations.
“The number-crunchers say we fired 10pc of the generals and admirals across the force,” Hegseth told troops at the Quantico military base in Virginia. “We’ve also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10pc.”
“So yes, 20pc reduction across the board,” he said. “The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue.”
What the Hegseth military leadership cuts involve
The address to junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico came a year after a similar speech to top officers, in which Hegseth said the US military was too fat, too focused on leftist “woke” ideas and in need of a major shake-up.
He said on Wednesday that top officers who “responded positively” to the earlier speech were now “leading newly focused and newly empowered and disciplined formations”, while those who did not “no longer work here”.
“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department,” Hegseth said. “Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors, just tough, ready, committed troops.”
Hegseth had ordered major cuts to the US military in May 2025, including a 10pc reduction to the overall number of generals and admirals and a 20pc decrease in the highest four-star ranks. There are around 850 generals and admirals in active service, and the criteria used to thin their ranks have proved far more controversial than the question of how many the force needs.
Musk returns to advise Trump government on future of war
Meanwhile, tech billionaire Elon Musk will return to officially advising US President Donald Trump’s government by co-leading what the Pentagon called a study on the future of war.
Musk served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he spearheaded sweeping job cuts across the US federal government, before departing in May 2025. In his Quantico speech, Hegseth said “Project Meridian” would be “an effort led by America’s best minds to study the future of warfare”.
“We are leveraging a unique source of American advantage, one our adversaries do not have: our innovators, our senior leaders and our technologists,” Hegseth said.
Musk will co-lead Project Meridian alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defence technology company Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old Republican former House speaker. Musk’s companies are already major Pentagon contractors, including SpaceX, which is building satellite networks for Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” missile defence shield.
On Tuesday, Musk sat next to Trump at a lunch with artificial intelligence executives, where he joined other tech leaders in signing a voluntary AI safety accord that the president described as “morally binding”. Last week, he attended the state dinner Trump hosted for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Frequently asked questions
How many US generals and admirals have been cut?
Hegseth says 10pc of generals and admirals were fired and the overall number of general officer slots was reduced by another 10pc, making a 20pc reduction across the board.
What is Project Meridian?
It is a Pentagon study on the future of warfare, to be co-led by Elon Musk, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
Why does Hegseth say the cuts were needed?
He frames them as accountability and a shift back to war-fighting, away from what he calls the “woke” policies of previous administrations. Critics call the move a purge of the military’s top ranks.
What is Musk’s current role with the US government?
After leaving the Department of Government Efficiency in May 2025, he is returning in an advisory role through Project Meridian, while his companies remain major Pentagon contractors.
