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The directive did not offer a reason for the gathering next
Tuesday of senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and
their top advisers at the Marine Corps base in Quantico. The
people, who described the move as unusual, were not authorized
to publicly discuss the sensitive plans and spoke Thursday on
condition of anonymity.
The Pentagon's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, confirmed that
Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early
next week.”
Across the military, there are 800 generals and admirals of all
ranks. Many command thousands of service members and are
stationed across the world in more than a dozen countries and
time zones.
President Donald Trump didn’t seem to know about the meeting
when he was asked about it by reporters during an Oval Office
appearance later Thursday.
“I’ll be there if they want me, but why is that such a big
deal?” Trump said.
Vice President JD Vance argued that the media had turned it into
a “big story” and that it was “not particularly unusual that
generals who report to” Hegseth are coming to speak with him.
The meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, comes on the
heels of several unusual and unexplained actions that Hegseth
has taken involving military leaders.
In May, Hegseth ordered that the military cut 20% of its
four-star general officers, directed an additional 10% cut from
all general and flag officers across the force, and told the
National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions.
In February, Hegseth fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's top
officer, and Gen. James Slife, the Air Force's second highest
officer, without explanation. He also relieved the military's
top lawyers.
Since then, Hegseth has fired other military leaders without
saying why. Most recently it was a general who led a military
intelligence agency whose initial assessment of U.S. damage to
Iranian nuclear sites in American strikes angered Trump.
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Burrows reported from London. Associated Press writer Seung Min
Kim contributed.
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