(Washington) The US Secretary for Defense, Pete Hegseth, ordered a reduction of at least 20 % on the number of four -star generals and admirals in practice on Monday, according to a memo.
Updated yesterday at 7:38 p.m.
Since its entry into office at the end of January, the government of Donald Trump says he wants to align the armed forces with the president’s political priorities, dismissing senior officers and wishing to dismiss thousands of civilian workers.
According to the same source, the secretary also ordered a 20 % reduction in the number of high military officers within the National Guard or 10 % of other enrollment within the army.
The conditions of application of these workforce reductions have not been specified.
Pete Hegseth, however, specified in a video published on X that these cuts would be made in two stages, starting with the four -star generals and those of the National Guard.
This decision is not intended to “punish high military officers”, assured the secretary, adding that she was aimed at “maximizing the right strategic preparation and operational efficiency”.
During his hearing against the American Senate in January, Pete Hegseth assured that bureaucracy had to be reduced within the Pentagon.
“It will be my work, work with those we recruit and with those within the administration, to identify the places where the fat can be eliminated in order to make it more formidable,” he said.
In March 2025, there were 38 four -star soldiers, the highest grade that one could reach in the American army, and a total of 817 generals and admirals in practice.
“Thanks to these measures, we will maintain our position as the most formidable combat force in the world, establishing peace by force and ensuring greater efficiency, more innovation and preparation for the challenges to come”, can be read in memo.
In February, Donald Trump had suddenly dismissed, without explanation, the chief of staff Charles Brown, also known as CQ Brown.
The Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the head of the American Navy, was also sent, the Admiral Linda Fagan, appointed by Joe Biden at the head of the American coast guard and the first woman to lead one of the six branches of the army, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and several high-ranking military lawyers.
The Defense Department has also announced that it wanted to reduce its civilian workforce by at least 5 %.
Pete Hegseth justified these dismissals by explaining that the president simply placed the officials he wanted where he wanted, but democratic parliamentarians expressed their concern about the potential politicization of the army.
