Hundreds of US generals and admirals across the globe have been referred to as to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequent Tuesday, a number of US officers instructed NCS, although the explanation for the meeting is unclear.
The meeting is anticipated to be held on the military set up in Quantico, Virginia, a number of officers stated, including that nobody appears to know what the meeting is about, together with the final and flag officers themselves, or why it was immediately added to the calendar.
One supply acquainted stated they’d heard theories starting from a gaggle bodily health check, to receiving a briefing on the state of the Defense Department, to a mass firing of officers, however regardless of the explanation the sudden convening of so many senior military officers is highly unusual.
“It’s being referred to as the general squid games,” one official quipped.
Some officers additionally voiced safety issues about having so many high-ranking officers in a single place on the identical time. A congressional aide instructed NCS that until Hegseth deliberate to announce “a major new military campaign or a complete overhaul of the military command structure, I can’t imagine a good reason for this.”
The Washington Post first reported information of the meeting early Thursday.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth might be “addressing his senior military leaders early next week.” The Pentagon didn’t reply particular questions in regards to the function of the meeting or if the directive was for all normal and flag officers within the military.
It’s unclear if the order was for all normal and flag officers — these with the rank of one star or larger — or simply these in sure command or management roles
The meeting comes because the Trump administration has fired a slew of high-profile normal and flag officers since taking workplace in January, in lots of situations due to Hegseth’s marketing campaign in opposition to diversity-related points, however typically additionally for unspecified causes. Hegseth additionally ordered the Defense Department in May to lower the quantity of four-star generals and admirals by no less than 20%.
The officers who’ve been fired up to now embrace former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former Chief of Naval Operations; Adm. Linda Fagan, former Commandant of the Coast Guard; Gen. James Slife, former vice chief of the Air Force; Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency; Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, former chief of the Navy Reserve; and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, former head of Naval Special Warfare Command.
Before taking over the function of protection secretary, Hegseth repeatedly voiced disdain for a lot of the military’s at the moment serving normal and flag officer corps. In a podcast look final summer time, Hegseth stated a 3rd of the military’s senior officers are “actively complicit” in what he argued is a transfer in the direction of politicization of the military. In a second podcast, he stated senior officers are “playing by all the wrong rules” to cater to “idealogues in Washington, DC.”