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| Hegseth orders ‘historic' reduction of general officers in the military |
| 2025-05-06 |
| [FoxNews] 'We’re going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters,' Hegseth says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the U.S. military will soon be seeing a dramatic reduction in the number of general officers across all branches. He called the reduction a "historic" move to fulfill President Donald Trump’s commitment to "achieving peace through strength." "We’re going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters," said Hegseth. According to Hegseth, there are currently 44 four-star and flag officers across the military, making for a ratio of one general to 1,400 troops, compared to the ratio during World War II of one general to 6,000 troops. Hegseth, who has pledged to transform the military into a "leaner, more lethal force," issued a memo to senior Pentagon personnel on Monday in which he ordered the reductions to be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, Hegseth ordered a "minimum" 20% reduction of four-star generals and flag officers in the active-duty component as well as a 20% reduction in the National Guard. In phase two, the secretary is ordering an additional 10% reduction in general and flag officers across the military. The secretary called the reductions part of his "less generals, more GIs policy." In a video announcing the change, he said the reductions will be done "carefully, but it's going to be done expeditiously." He said "this is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers" but rather a "deliberative process, working with the joint chiefs with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions." "We got to be lean and mean. And in this case, it means general officer reductions," said Hegseth. Congress sets the number of general officers allowed in the military. The total number of active-duty general or flag officers is capped at 219 for the Army, 150 for the Navy, 171 for the Air Force, 64 for the Marine Corps and 21 for the Space Force. Related: Pete Hegseth 05/02/2025 100 Days Off-Plan: Why Trump Fired National Security Advisor Pete Hegseth 05/01/2025 Hegseth sends strong message to Iran and Houthis: 'You will pay' Pete Hegseth 04/27/2025 Pete Hegseth Demolishes One of the Left's Power Centers in the Pentagon |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #4 Look up "Plucking Board" under gen. Marshal just before WWII. Needs to be done, but it will be ugly. |
| Posted by: Nguard 2025-05-06 22:49 |
| #3 ...empire building. - Creating new commands - Multi-national organizations - A division back in WW2 has one general officer as its commander. Today a division has three, the division commander and deputy commander for maneuver and support. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-05-06 16:04 |
| #2 I don't know about officer stuff but back when family was career non-com it was 'up or out,' so how does the general staff get so top heavy? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2025-05-06 14:43 |
| #1 Really? Historical? Check the number of union generals in January 1865 and the number in January 1867. Custer went from general to colonel. However, that was a time before the courts started to interfere in the process. Check this one's ups and downs in rank in the old system. But, its a start. Make colonel an important rank again. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-05-06 08:12 |