Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo titled "Less Generals, More GIs" ordering the Pentagon to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20%, cut general officers in the National Guard by 20%, and reduce the total number of general and flag officers across the military by 10%. The order represented a structural assault on senior military leadership beyond the individual firings Hegseth had already carried out.
The memo provided no specific timeline for implementation. Coming on top of the February 2025 purge that had already removed the Joint Chiefs chairman, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, the structural reduction order signaled that the politicization of military leadership was not limited to removing individual officers perceived as disloyal, but extended to permanently shrinking the senior ranks. Military analysts warned the cuts would hollow out institutional expertise and military readiness, particularly as geopolitical tensions escalated.