Defense Secretary announces plan to cut senior officer billets by 20%
The Pentagon will reduce the number of general and flag officer positions by 20% by Jan. 1, 2027, with some roles to be downgraded rather than eliminated, the secretary said ahead of his State of the Force address.
The Department of Defense will trim the total number of billets reserved for generals and admirals by 20%, with the changes to be implemented across the Army, Navy, Air Force and the joint pool by Jan. 1, 2027. The reduction, approved in memoranda earlier this month, targets positions rather than the officers currently holding them, allowing some posts to be filled by colonels and Navy captains.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to outline the plan during his State of the Force address on Wednesday, where he will also present other priorities for the coming year. The new target doubles a 10% cut ordered last year, which also called for a 20% reduction in active-duty four-star slots and in National Guard general officers.
"This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. 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," Hegseth said when announcing the earlier reductions.
The secretary has described the effort as shifting resources and authority toward troops closer to operational missions, emphasizing a leaner senior-leadership structure. A Pentagon memo dated Sept. 16 directs officials to set O-6 (colonel or Navy captain) requirements for downgraded positions, enabling lower-rank officers to assume those duties.