In a stunning move, the Pentagon has ordered hundreds of the most powerful military commanders in the United States and abroad to report to Virginia for an in-person meeting next week — a gathering so large and unusual that it has Pentagon watchers sounding the alarm.
According to Fox News reporter Liz Friden, multiple top officials from the War Department confirmed that this meeting will bring together approximately 800 generals and admirals from across the globe. While the Pentagon has acknowledged the meeting is taking place, they’ve refused to provide any details about the agenda or what prompted such a massive mobilization of top brass.
“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed. But beyond that, the Department has gone silent.
Normally, briefings of this scale would be conducted via secure video conference, not with hundreds of high-ranking leaders flown in from every corner of the world. The secrecy surrounding this meeting — combined with recent efforts by War Secretary Pete Hegseth to cut the military’s top-heavy leadership — has triggered speculation that a major purge could be imminent.
Back in May, Hegseth announced sweeping plans to reduce the bloated number of generals and admirals, aiming to slash nearly 100 high-ranking positions. His directive included a minimum 20 percent cut to four-star officers and an additional 10 percent reduction across all general and flag officers. He called it part of his “less generals, more GIs” approach.
To put things in perspective, today’s military has one general or admiral for every 1,400 service members. During World War II, the ratio was closer to one general for every 6,000 troops.
Now, with a new national defense strategy in development that shifts focus back to protecting the homeland — rather than foreign pivot strategies like the Indo-Pacific — Hegseth appears to be laying the groundwork for a full-force restructuring of the U.S. military.
This could mean major changes to how troops are stationed globally, and who remains in command when the dust settles.
🔗 Read the original Fox News report by Liz Friden
