Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals to gather in Virginia on short notice and with no stated reason, a new report reveals.
Hegseth has ordered the group to meet at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, citing more than a dozen people familiar with the order. The move has sparked alarm and confusion, according to the Post, particularly after Hegseth fired several senior military leaders earlier this year.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth will address senior military leaders early next week in a statement to The Independent. He did not provide any additional information.
There are about 800 generals and admirals stationed in the U.S. and around the world. The order applies to all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general — or the Navy equivalent — and above who are serving in command positions, as well as their top enlisted advisers, the Post reported.
The Post’s sources said they can’t recall a defense secretary ever ordering such a large gathering of military leaders in a similar fashion. Several sources also said the meeting raises security questions.
“People are very concerned,” one source told the outlet. “They have no idea what it means.”
Two sources also told the outlet they’re concerned that commanders stationed overseas have to make an appearance. Top commanders in conflict zones, as well as senior leaders in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region are all expected to attend, according to 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/what the topic or agenda is,” one source said, using an acronym that refers to general officers or flag officers in the military.
“Are we taking every general and flag officer out of the Pacific right now?” a U.S. official told the Post. “All of it is weird.”
This comes after Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star generals and admirals earlier this year. Hegeseth said that “more generals and admirals does not equal more success,” in a video posted to X shortly afterward.
"This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers; nothing could be further from the truth," he said.
Last month, Hegseth also reportedly fired Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse after the agency he led determined that the Trump administration’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in May weren’t as effective as President Donald Trump had claimed.
