Defense secretary Pete Hegseeth ordered a reduction of 20 percent of four-star officers-the senior ranks of the army and continued the wide strip of work reductions and shooting that have marked his three months at the helm of the Pentagon.
In a memo on Monday, Mr Hegseeth also ordered a reduction of 10 percent of the total officers in the field of general level in the army, and a 20 percent reduction of four -star positions in the National Guard.
“Through these measures, we will maintain our position as the most deadly fighting power in the world, achieve peace through strength and ensuring greater efficiency, innovation and readiness to achieve every challenge,” he said.
Hegseeth already has a raft of military leadersMany of them people of color and women. He fired the black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gene. Charles Q. Brown Jr.; The first woman to recommend the navy, Admiral Lisa -Franchetti; And the representative of the US Army at NATO Military Committee, Vice -Admiral Shoshana Chatfield.
Mr. Hegseeth is fighting calls for his own shooting afterwards Publication on signalA commercial chat app, the flight series for us strikes against Houthis supported by Iran in Yemen.
He has focused on what he has called a “awake” agenda in the Pentagon, one of the signatures of his term of office. Last week he boasted on social media that he had “proud” A program canceled Encourage more women to play a role in national security.
In his memo on Monday, the cutbacks explained, said Mr. Hegseeth, a former Fox News Weekend anchor, that “the Ministry of Defense is dedicated to guarantee the deadliness of US forces to scare threats and, if necessary, achieve a decisive victory.”
He added: “A crucial step in this process is the removal of the superfluous power structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing surplus general and flagpentist functions.”
There are around 800 officers at the general level in the army. At the most senior, four -star level there are 44.
It was unclear how Mr. Hegseeth was planning to reduce the positions. Because general officers serve with the pleasure of the president, they can sometimes be easier to fire than lower -arranged service members.
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