20% OF THE TOP BRASS: Hegseth Orders Major Cut in Generals and Admirals as Pentagon Launches New Autonomous Warfare Command

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War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a sweeping new round of changes to the U.S. military Wednesday, ordering an overall 20% reduction in general and admiral positions while unveiling a new four-star command devoted to drones, robotics and autonomous warfare.

The move doubles the 10% overall reduction in general and flag officer positions Hegseth ordered last year and is expected to affect positions across the Army, Navy, Air Force and joint military structure. Some posts are expected to disappear entirely, while others could be downgraded so that they no longer require a general or admiral. The services have been directed to complete the reductions by Jan. 1, 2027.

Hegseth announced the changes during his “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where he spoke before junior officers and enlisted leaders. It was the second consecutive year that he delivered such an address, an event that is not traditionally part of the Pentagon chief’s annual schedule.

The Pentagon chief framed the reduction in senior officers as part of his effort to flatten the military bureaucracy and place more resources and authority closer to troops in the field.

“I call it accountability and long overdue,” he said.

There are roughly 800 general and flag officer positions across the military, though not every authorized position is necessarily filled at any given time. Generals and admirals represent only a tiny fraction of the overall force. Hegseth has previously described his effort as a “less generals, more GIs” approach, arguing that excessive layers of senior leadership can create unnecessary bureaucracy.

The reductions are part of a much broader transformation Hegseth has pursued since taking charge of the Pentagon under President Trump. His tenure has included the removal or departure of numerous senior military leaders as well as changes to diversity programs, physical standards, grooming policies and other personnel rules that Hegseth has argued distracted the armed forces from combat readiness. Critics have disputed that characterization and questioned whether some of the personnel changes have been politically driven.

Hegseth’s Quantico address came as the U.S. military remains heavily engaged overseas, including in the ongoing war with Iran. American forces have expended large quantities of interceptors defending U.S. personnel and allies against Iranian missiles and drones, while Tehran has retained the ability to threaten military and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.

Alongside the leadership cuts, Hegseth announced one of the Pentagon’s most ambitious attempts yet to reorganize around the rapidly changing nature of warfare: a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM. The organization is intended to accelerate the military’s development and deployment of drones, robotics and other autonomous systems across the armed forces.

Hegseth described the effort as “the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history.”

The Pentagon plans to take an interim step through “Project Agincourt,” which will help develop the organizational and acquisition structure for the future command. Hegseth’s goal is to establish AUTOWARCOM by October 2027, although creating a command with the authorities envisioned by the Pentagon is expected to require congressional involvement.

The announcement comes amid growing recognition inside the Pentagon that inexpensive drones and autonomous systems have transformed modern battlefields. The war in Ukraine in particular has demonstrated how rapidly forces can modify and deploy unmanned systems and how comparatively inexpensive drones can destroy or disable far more costly military equipment.

The Pentagon’s renewed emphasis on drones follows controversy over an Army unit in Europe specializing in drone warfare that was directed to return to a traditional infantry role. A bipartisan group of lawmakers subsequently demanded answers from the Army, arguing that the military should be expanding rather than abandoning efforts to master technology that has become central to modern combat.

Hegseth also used Wednesday’s address to highlight the Trump administration’s push to dramatically expand American weapons production. The Iran war has intensified longstanding concerns about whether the U.S. defense industrial base can manufacture missiles, interceptors and other weapons quickly enough to replace systems being consumed in combat.

Some military analysts have estimated that replenishing inventories of certain heavily used weapons could take years at existing production rates, adding urgency to the administration’s pressure on defense contractors to expand manufacturing capacity.

Hegseth also repeated his assessment of the damage inflicted on Iran’s military during the conflict, pointing to the destruction of Iranian naval, air-defense and other military capabilities. Iran, however, has continued intermittent missile and drone attacks and retains capabilities that can threaten American and allied forces in the region.

Beyond drones and personnel reductions, Hegseth announced several additional Pentagon initiatives. Among them is Project Meridian, a group that will examine the future of warfare and identify emerging technologies and capabilities the U.S. military will need. Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are slated to help lead the effort, with a report due in January 2027.

Another initiative, dubbed “FORTRESS America,” calls for major U.S. military installations to develop the ability to generate their own power independently of the civilian electrical grid. Hegseth also announced a competition among states for the location of a new major military base, an expanded military-college initiative and a new Office of Religious Affairs intended to provide chaplains with a direct avenue to Pentagon leadership.

The proposed reduction in generals and admirals has already triggered debate on Capitol Hill. Supporters of trimming the upper ranks argue that a leaner command structure could reduce bureaucracy and push decision-making downward, while critics warn that eliminating too many senior positions could cost the military decades of accumulated experience.

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat who previously served as a Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut, sharply criticized Hegseth’s approach.

“He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut, who has been critical of Hegseth. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.”

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took a more cautious position, saying he wanted to examine exactly how the Pentagon intends to carry out the reduction before reaching a conclusion.

“If it’s simply a matter of eliminating a very heavy top, there may be some validity to it, but I want to see it first,” Rounds said.

{Matzav.com}