{"id":134154,"date":"2026-10-02T08:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T03:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=134154"},"modified":"2026-10-02T08:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T03:14:19","slug":"hegseth-says-us-slashed-20pc-of-its-military-leadership-cadre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/134154\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth says US slashed 20pc of its military leadership cadre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON(National Times)- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the United States has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20 per cent, in a move he said is aimed at \u201caccountability\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth suggested the cuts targeted officers who failed to get on board with his efforts to ensure the military is focused on war-fighting rather than the \u201cwoke\u201d policies of previous administrations, describing the reductions as an \u201caccomplishment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe number-crunchers say we fired 10pc of the generals and admirals across the force,\u201d Hegseth told troops at the Quantico military base, saying: \u201cWe\u2019ve also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10pc.\u201d \u201cSo yes, 20pc reduction across the board,\u201d he said. \u201cThe media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The address to junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico came a year after a similar speech to top officers in which Hegseth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1945663\">said<\/a> the US military was too fat, too focu\u00adsed on leftist \u201cwoke\u201d ideas, and in need of major shake-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said on Wednesday that top officers who \u201cresponded positively\u201d to the previous spe\u00ade\u00adch are \u201cleading newly focused and newly empowered and disciplined formations\u201d, while th\u00ad\u00adose who did not \u201cno longer work here\u201d. \u201cWe are no longer the woke department or the we\u00adak department,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSimple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors \u2014 just tough, ready, committed troops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth ordered major cuts to the US military \u2014 including a 10pc reduction to the overall number of generals and admirals, and a 20pc decrease in the highest four-star ranks \u2014 in May 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Musk\u2019s return<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, tech billionaire Elon Musk will make a return to officially advising US President Donald Trump\u2019s government by co-leading what the Pentagon called a study on the future of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he spearheaded sweeping job cuts across the US federal government, before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1914033\">departing<\/a> in May 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a speech at the Quantico military base, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said \u201cProject Meridian\u201d will be \u201can effort led by America\u2019s best minds to study the future of warfare\u201d. \u201cWe are leveraging a unique source of American advantage, one our adversaries do not have: our innovators, our senior leaders and our technologists,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk will be a co-leader of Project Meridian alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defence technology company Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old Republican former House speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk\u2019s companies are already major Pentagon contractors, including SpaceX building satellite networks for Trump\u2019s planned \u201cGolden Dome\u201d missile defence shield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday he was seated next to Trump at a lunch with artificial intelligence executives, where he joined other tech leaders in signing a voluntary AI safety accord that the president described as \u201cmorally binding\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, Musk attended the state dinner Trump hosted for Chinese President Xi Jinping, and in May he flew to Beijing on Air Force One as part of the business delegation accompanying Trump on his state visit to China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON(National Times)- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the United States has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20 per cent, in a move he said is aimed at \u201caccountability\u201d. Hegseth suggested the cuts targeted officers who failed to get on board with his efforts to ensure the military is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hegseth says US slashed 20pc of its military leadership cadre - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/134154\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hegseth says US slashed 20pc of its military leadership cadre - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON(National Times)- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the United States has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20 per cent, in a move he said is aimed at \u201caccountability\u201d. 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