Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered approximately 800 of the U.S. military’s top generals and admirals to gather at a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week, without giving an exact explanation for the unprecedented order.
The order applies to all officers with the rank of brigadier general or above serving in command positions worldwide, along with their top enlisted advisers.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week” but provided no additional details about the meeting’s purpose.
The directive has drawn some concerns from military officials who told The Washington Post that no defense secretary has ever ordered such a mass assembly of top commanders. Several sources expressed alarm about the security risks of concentrating so many senior leaders in one location, particularly given ongoing global tensions.
“People are very concerned. They have no idea what it means,” one person told The Post. “You don’t call GOFOs leading their people and the global force into an auditorium outside D.C. and not tell them why.”
The order requires commanders from conflict zones and senior military leaders stationed throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific region to attend Tuesday’s meeting at Quantico, Virginia.
The Pentagon typically uses highly secure videoconferencing technology for sensitive discussions involving commanders worldwide, making the in-person requirement unusual.
The emergency gathering comes as Hegseth has implemented sweeping changes at the Pentagon since taking office. In May, he announced plans to slash the number of generals and admirals by 20 percent, calling it his “less generals, more GIs policy.”
According to Hegseth, there are currently 44 four-star officers across the military, creating a ratio of one general to 1,400 troops, compared to World War II’s ratio of one general to 6,000 troops. His directive called for cutting about 100 generals and admirals, with a minimum 20 percent reduction in four-star officers and an additional 10 percent cut across all general and flag officer positions.
The defense secretary has also fired several senior leaders, including Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve; and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, who oversaw Naval Special Warfare Command.
Some officials speculated the meeting may relate to a new national defense strategy being prepared by the Trump administration. The strategy is expected to make homeland defense the nation’s top priority, shifting focus away from the previous emphasis on China and the Indo-Pacific region.
The gathering also comes as administration officials prepare a global force posture review that could result in major changes to U.S. troop positioning at bases worldwide.