US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a 20% reduction in generals and admirals in the army

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that under his leadership, the US army is firing approximately 20% of all generals and admirals. He also announced the establishment of a “warrior spirit” in the army and promised to create a new Autonomous Combat Systems Command.

Hegseth spoke to officers at the US Marine Corps base Quantico (Virginia).

“Experts have calculated that we have fired 10% of all our generals and admirals,” the defense minister said. This is the number. Looks like it's true. I know because it was done under my direction. But we have reduced the number of general and admiral positions by another 10%. So yes, in total we are talking about a reduction of 20%.”

According to the American military department, more than 800 admirals and generals now serve in all branches of the US military.

Hegseth's previous keynote address was his speech at Quantico in September 2025. In it, he criticized the army, describing it as overly imbued with “wok ideology.” He also expressed strong dissatisfaction with senior officers, saying that "fat generals and admirals" "look bad."

On Wednesday, the Defense Secretary said his speech last year was "Liberation Day" for the Pentagon, and those who did not agree with the changes "no longer work here."

“We are no longer a ‘woke ministry’ or a weak ministry,” he said.

Hegseth added that he does not want to see transgender people in the army, as well as overweight people and those who wear beards.

“Ideological clowns are fired. In their place were taken patriotic cowboys with top testosterone test results. Our strength is not in diversity. Our strength is in unity,” the head of the Pentagon said.

He also announced the creation of a new Autonomous Combat Systems Command, which is intended to facilitate the introduction of military robots and drones into the army, which will be “greatly enhanced” by artificial intelligence.

In addition, the minister intends to create a new Department of Religious Affairs, which will “strengthen religious support” for military personnel.

Layoffs or purges?

As head of the Department of Defense (which he renamed the "Ministry of War"), Hegseth strives to strengthen what he calls the "warrior spirit."

According to the BBC's American partner, CBS News, at least 20 generals, admirals and civilian military leaders were fired under his leadership.

Among them, the chief of staff of the Ground Forces, the head of military intelligence and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff lost their positions.

“The media call it purges,” Hegseth said Wednesday. “I call this responsibility, which should have come long ago.” And, to be honest, this is the bare minimum that should have been done.”

Various human rights groups, including the NAACP (one of the main associations for the protection of black rights in the United States), as well as the National Women's Rights Center, accused the Secretary of Defense of preventing the promotion of African Americans and women.

Alexander Downs, a professor of political science at George Washington University, described Hegseth's policy in this regard as "somewhat suspicious" in an interview with the BBC. Downs recalls that previous Pentagon leaders also changed military leadership, but the current secretary's actions "certainly go further."

The Pentagon has previously said it "never considers the color or gender of service members as a factor in promotion decisions." He insists that in the Ministry of Defense “everything is done only on the basis of meritocracy” (that is, a system in which preference is given to the best in their field).

But Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former military veteran, criticized Hegseth, accusing him of "driving the best leaders out of the military's upper echelons."

“We need strong leaders. These guys have many decades of experience behind them, they are the best of all who have ever served in our army. And he gets rid of them,” says Kelly.

Is it good when there are many generals in the army?

In May, a Congressional Research Service report noted some of the shortcomings of too many senior officers. These include high salary costs for such military personnel and a possible “slowdown in the decision-making process.”

According to Downs, reducing the number of generals and admirals in itself can be either a positive or negative step, but “it all depends on the reasons for which it is done and the purpose it serves.”

Downs says the U.S. military is about 50 percent smaller now than it was in the 1960s, but has only 30 percent fewer generals than it did then.