Pete Hegseth is preparing to announce a 20 percent reduction in general and admiral roles, doubling earlier cuts as he pushes to shrink top brass and put more authority closer to the fight.

A department official told The Post that the Secretary of War has already greenlit deep cuts to flag officer and general positions across the Air Force, Army, and Navy, with a target of finishing the work by Jan. 1 of next year. He is expected to lay out the plan during his State of the Force address Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

Fox News first reported the move. The reduction doubles the 10 percent cut in general and flag officer positions Hegseth ordered last year, when he also directed a 20 percent cut in National Guard general officers and active-duty four-star slots.

Just The News reported the cuts will hit positions reserved for generals and admirals in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the joint pool. The aim is clear: fewer layers at the top and more decision-making power for personnel nearer the battlefield.

Hegseth has framed the effort in plain terms. He has called for “less generals, more GIs.”

Prior cuts and a deliberative process with the Joint Chiefs

Last year, during an address to the military, Hegseth rejected any claim that the reductions were personal payback.

He said:

“This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers.”

He also stated:

“This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.”

Those earlier orders came as he argued the force needed streamlining so authority sits closer to combat units rather than in expanded headquarters staffs. The new 20 percent target builds directly on that foundation.

Congressional Research Service data cited in the reporting showed 809 active-duty flag officers as of Sept. 30, 2023, below a ceiling of 857. Exact current baselines for the fresh cut were not detailed in the available accounts.

Some posts may be downgraded, not erased

The Washington Examiner reported Hegseth will announce the 20 percent reduction in leadership positions allotted to generals and admirals during the same Wednesday address, with the work due by the start of 2027. Some roles are expected to be downgraded rather than eliminated outright.

That detail matters for force structure. A downgrade can keep a billet while removing the flag rank attached to it, trimming the senior roster without wiping out every function. The core direction remains the same: fewer generals and admirals relative to the force they lead.

Hegseth is also expected to use the Quantico speech to set out broader Pentagon priorities and offer his assessment of the country’s military readiness. The base hosted a rare summoning of top brass last year when he pressed the first round of reductions.

Fitness rules and a wider push against bloat

The officer cuts sit alongside other changes Hegseth has driven. He has railed against so-called “fat generals” and “beardos,” and he rolled out new waist-to-height standards plus revamped grooming rules. The message is consistent: standards apply at the top, and the ranks should not carry excess structure that slows decisions.

Throughout his tenure he has removed more than two dozen top officials, a record that has drawn congressional scrutiny. Related coverage has tracked Democratic impeachment threats against Hegseth as political pressure rose around his leadership.

House Republicans have also maneuvered around related fights, including when GOP leaders sent lawmakers home early and sidestepped a Hegseth impeachment vote. Those episodes show the intensity of the debate over his approach even as he continues to press structural change inside the building.

His operational style has shown up in smaller fights as well. He has stepped in on service-level disputes, including when he intervened after South Carolina Apache pilots were grounded over a July 4th flyover, signaling a preference for backing units that execute missions over process that sidelines them.

Critics have kept up a steady drumbeat. Senators have gone further at times, with coverage of how Tillis demanded Trump fire Hegseth after the Army secretary’s resignation. None of that has reversed the direction of the force-structure drive now headed for a formal unveiling.

Readiness over rank inflation

Hegseth’s case rests on a simple trade-off. Every additional general and admiral billet expands the headquarters layer. Every reduction is meant to free authority and attention for the troops who actually close with the enemy. The Jan. 1 target and the doubled percentage give the services a hard deadline and a clear number.

Whether some billets are cut cold or quietly downgraded, the net effect is a smaller senior roster. That matches the language he has used since the first round: prudent reductions, worked with the Joint Chiefs, aimed at strategic readiness and operational effectiveness, not theater.

Taxpayers fund a military that must win wars, not sustain an ever-growing constellation of flag officers. Cutting the brass to reinforce the ranks is the kind of common-sense correction Washington usually avoids. Hegseth is doing it anyway.