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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered a 20% simplification successful the fig of four-star officers, deepening cuts astatine the Pentagon that person shaken the Department of Defense astatine the commencement of President Donald Trump's 2nd word successful office.
Hegseth has agelong been vocal astir how he views the senior-most ranks of the subject arsenic excessively big.
The erstwhile Fox News big has moved with stunning velocity to reshape the department, firing apical generals and admirals arsenic helium seeks to instrumentality Trump's nationalist information docket and basal retired diverseness initiatives helium calls discriminatory.
In a memo, the contents of which were archetypal reported by Reuters, Hegseth said determination volition besides beryllium a minimum 20 percent simplification successful the fig of wide officers successful the National Guard and an further 10% simplification among wide and emblem officers crossed the military.
"More generals and admirals does not pb to much success," Hegseth said successful a video posted connected X.
"This is not a slash and pain workout meant to punish precocious ranking officers, thing could beryllium further from the truth," helium said.
He added that helium worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff connected this and the extremity was "maximizing strategical readiness."
At his confirmation hearing, helium stated determination was "an inverse narration betwixt the size of staffs and triumph connected the battlefield."
At the time, helium said that determination were 44 four-star positions successful the military. He has since removed the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy's apical admiral and the manager of the National Security Agency.
Careful but expeditious cuts
In his video connected Monday, Hegseth said the cuts would beryllium done cautiously but "expeditiously."
It was unclear which positions would beryllium cut. The Pentagon has been carrying retired a reappraisal of its planetary footprint and Hegseth has been considering whether to merge immoderate combatant commands, which transportation retired operations successful antithetic parts of the satellite and are led by four-star officers.
Some imaginable options could see U.S. African Command merging with U.S. European Command, which would trim 1 four-star position.
It could besides mean combining U.S. Southern Command, successful complaint of operations successful Central and South America, with U.S. Northern Command.
Other four-star positions Hegseth might look astatine see the caput of U.S. Army forces successful the Pacific and caput of U.S. forces successful Korea.
The upheaval astatine the Pentagon in the past fewer months has not been constricted to uniformed officials.
Three apical officials person been fired successful caller weeks, triggered by a leak probe ordered by Hegseth's main of unit connected March 21.
The dismissed aides see Dan Caldwell, a longtime workfellow of Hegseth's who became 1 of his astir trusted advisors. He was escorted retired of the Pentagon past week implicit leaks for which helium denies responsibility. Also dismissed was Hegseth's lawman main of staff, Darin Selnick.
