Hegseth Touts 'Less Generals More GIs' Policy, Vows Major Cuts in Top Ranks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday in a memo that he wants to cut back on the number of four-star generals in the nation’s military in order to increase efficiency as well as cut bloat. He also vowed to cut back 20 percent of the top National Guard leadership.

He called many of the positions “redundant:”

Hegseth directed the Department of Defense to reduce its active component four-star military officers and general officers in the National Guard by at least 20% each, with a minimum 10% reduction of general and flag officers, according to the memo. The move is intended to improve efficiency and officer quality by removing “unnecessary bureaucratic layers that hinder their growth and effectiveness.”
“Through these measures, we will uphold our position as the most lethal fighting force in the world, achieving peace through strength and ensuring greater efficiency, innovation, and preparedness for any challenge that lies ahead,” Hegseth wrote in the memo.

INBOX: @SecDef Hegseth orders a 20% cut of active component four-star military officers, a 20% slash of national guard general officers and a 10% cut on general and flag officers@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/mXjagMOAaw
— Wallace H. White (@WallHWhite) May 5, 2025

He also took to social media to explain his moves:

Introducing the “Less Generals More GIs Policy.” pic.twitter.com/bQLRL2MqSC
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 5, 2025

Hegseth:

“This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers,” Hegseth said on X. “This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.”

Hegseth Eliminates Generals and Scraps Obsolescent Weapons to Jump Start the 21st Century Army

There is no shortage of generals in our military:

There are about 800 general officers in the military, but only 44 of those are four-star general or flag officers. Hegseth has already directed the firings of more than a half-dozen three- and four-star generals since taking office, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., saying those eliminations were “a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.”
Hegseth said the cuts aimed to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”

The Trump administration along with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made cutting fat and bloat out of the gargantuan federal government a priority, and virtually every Cabinet member has announced reductions in their department’s personnel and the elimination of wasteful programs—especially woke social justice initiatives that shouldn’t be the business of our taxpayer-funded institutions.

Hegseth earlier also ordered the Army to slim down:

Hegseth last week ordered a sweeping transformation to the Army to “build a leaner, more lethal force,” including merging or closing headquarters, dumping outdated vehicles and aircraft, slashing as many as 1,000 headquarters staff in the Pentagon and shifting personnel to units in the field.

Presumably, activist judges are currently trying to figure out how to stop each and every one of his moves and force him to keep each and every position on the payroll—preferably in perpetuity.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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