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HEGSETH: ‘LESS GENERALS, MORE GIs’: When it comes to the number of generals and admirals in the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has determined there are too many stars in the firmament.
On Monday, Hegseth issued a memorandum titled General/Flag Officer Reductions to senior Pentagon leadership, ordering the removal of “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.”
“That’s the official title. My title is ‘Less Generals, More GI’s,’” Hegseth said in a companion video posted on X. “We’re going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our war fighters.” Hegseth called the plan “historic” and the “most comprehensive review since the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986,” which he said was “a generational change in combat command structures.”
“Let’s take a bit of a trip down memory lane in history,” Hegseth said in the video. “When we were fighting across the globe during World War II, we had a force that was 12-million-strong. For that 12-million-man element, we had 17 four-and-five-star generals. Today, we have 2.1 million service members and 44 four-star and flag officers. So, it used to be a ratio of one general to 6,000 troops. Today, it’s one general to 1,400.”