By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers, deepening ongoing cuts at the Pentagon that have shaken the Department of Defense at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
In a memo, the contents of which were first reported by Reuters, Hegseth said there will also be a minimum 20 percent reduction in the number of general officers in the National Guard and an additional 10% reduction among general and flag officers across the military.
“The Department of Defense is committed to ensuring the lethality of U.S. Military Forces to deter threats and, when necessary, achieve decisive victory,” Hegseth wrote.
“A critical step in this process is removing redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions,” he added.
Hegseth has long been vocal about how the senior-most ranks of the military are too big.
At his confirmation hearing, he stated there was “an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield.”
He has also removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy’s top admiral and other senior flag officers from their positions.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)