Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly summoning hundreds of generals and flag officers from around the world to Virginia next week for a meeting, with no explanation on the gathering’s purpose.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that virtually all of the U.S. military’s top leaders from around the world, including those stationed in combat zones, are expected at the Tuesday meeting in Quantico.
A spokesman for Hegseth told the paper that the defense secretary will be addressing the leaders but did not go into further detail, the Post reported.
The paper’s sources could not recall a similar gathering of all the nation’s top military officials, adding that the meeting is a security risk.
One source said summoning the generals and flag officers without an explanation is “not how this is done.”
“Are we taking every general and flag officer out of the Pacific right now?” another U.S. official told the Post. “All of it is weird.”
Some officials speculated that the Trump administration’s crafting of a new national defense policy centered on homeland security may be on the table at Tuesday’s meeting.
The gathering comes four months after Hegseth directed a 20% cut to four-star officers along with a 20% cut to top National Guard positions and a 10% cut to military generals and flag officers.
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a former Marine, said Hegseth’s order was crafted to allow the defense secretary to fire top military brass who disagree with him.
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