Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans Monday to trim the number of top-ranking officers in the U.S. military, aiming to cut at least 20% of active-duty four-star positions and National Guard generals.
In a memo, Hegseth said the goal is to streamline leadership and eliminate excess general and flag officer roles, with an additional 10% cut across broader ranks. Emphasizing that the move isn’t punitive, Hegseth described it as a “deliberative process” in collaboration with the Joint Chiefs, designed to boost operational efficiency and readiness. He noted the current number of four-star officers stands at 44—far higher than the 17 during World War II.
This initiative follows Hegseth’s earlier efforts to curb defense spending. In March, he axed over $580 million in wasteful contracts and grants identified by DOGE, Elon Musk’s cost-cutting unit.
Musk and former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy had previously criticized the Pentagon’s $841 billion budget and repeated audit failures. More recently, Hegseth announced the cancellation of $5.1 billion in IT and consulting contracts with firms like Deloitte and Accenture, calling them wasteful and claiming nearly $4 billion in taxpayer savings.
