Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned scores of generals and admirals from around the world to meet on short notice next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia but has not disclosed the reason for the gathering, four U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The unusual directive, which has been filtering its way through military commands, and the undisclosed rationale, has stirred anxiety among the military’s top ranks at a time when Mr. Hegseth has fired several senior officers.
The four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential meetings, confirmed that the gathering was scheduled for next week, possibly Sept. 30, at the base in Quantico, Va.
There are about 800 general-level officers in the armed forces, including 44 at the most senior, four-star level. It was not immediately clear how many of them would be ordered to the gathering, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post.
In May, Mr. Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in four-star officers, continuing the broad job reductions and firings that have marked the first several months of his tenure. Mr. Hegseth has also signaled that he wants to consolidate some of the military’s war-fighting commands and pare generals and admirals there.
Mr. Hegseth has already fired more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women. He fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is Black; the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; and the U.S. military’s representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. He also pushed out Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Jeff Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that Mr. Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” but he offered no additional details.
The top four-star combatant commanders and the chiefs of the armed services typically meet at least twice a year in Washington, often holding a working dinner with the president. But the large number and generals that could be ordered to Washington — including those working active conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa and Europe — is without precedent in recent memory, military officials said.
The summons comes as Mr. Hegseth has just cemented restrictions on how military and Pentagon officials can engage directly with the public. In a memo last week, he said that participation in many events now require written approval from the Pentagon’s press office. Exceptions include Pentagon-hosted industry meetings and some briefings involving foreign governments.
Mr. Hegseth’s top aides are also putting the finishing touches on a draft of a new national defense strategy for the Pentagon The document, yet to be released, is reported to place homeland security, and defense of the Western Hemisphere, at the top of the priorities of what Mr. Trump is now calling the Department of War.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.
Greg Jaffe covers the Pentagon and the U.S. military.
Helene Cooper is a Pentagon correspondent for The Times. She was previously an editor, diplomatic correspondent and White House correspondent.
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