It is reported that Pete Hegseth, Minister of National Defense of the United States, has instructed to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military by at least 20%.
On the 5th (local time), the Ministry of National Defense of the United States reported that Minister Hegseth signed a memo related to 'Pentagon senior leadership' containing this information.
The memo reportedly includes directives to ▲reduce active-duty four-star generals by at least 20% ▲reduce state National Guard generals by at least 20% ▲further reduce at least 10% of all generals.
Currently, there are more than 800 generals in the U.S. military, of which 44 hold the highest rank of four-star. The administration of Donald Trump instructed to reduce this number by at least nine.
Minister Hegseth stated in the memo, “To optimize and streamline leadership, it is necessary to reduce excessive general positions and eliminate redundant unit structures.”
Since the commander of U.S. Forces Korea is also a four-star general, there is expected to be interest in whether this change will have an impact.
Earlier, Minister Hegseth said in an interview with Fox News after President Donald Trump dismissed the Black former Joint Chiefs Chairman Charles Brown in February, “I will alleviate general officer and rank inflation.”