By Haley Britzky and Zachary Cohen, CNN
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
Hundreds of US generals and admirals around the globe have been called to Virginia for a meeting with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth next week, several US officials told CNN, though the reason for the meeting is unclear.
The meeting is expected to be held at the military installation in Quantico, Virginia, multiple officials said, adding that no one seems to know what the meeting is about, including the general and flag officers themselves, or why it was suddenly added to the calendar.
One source familiar said they'd heard theories ranging from a group physical fitness test, to receiving a briefing on the state of the Defence Department, to a mass firing of officers, but regardless of the reason the sudden convening of so many senior military officers is highly unusual.
"It's being referred to as the general squid games," one official quipped.
Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Some officials also voiced security concerns about having so many high-ranking officers in one place at the same time. A congressional aide told CNN that unless Hegseth planned to announce "a major new military campaign or a complete overhaul of the military command structure, I can't imagine a good reason for this".
The Washington Post first reported news of the meeting early Thursday.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth will be "addressing his senior military leaders early next week". The Pentagon did not answer specific questions about the purpose of the meeting or if the directive was for all general and flag officers in the military.
It's unclear if the order was for all general and flag officers - those with the rank of one star or higher - or just those in certain command or leadership roles.
The meeting comes as the Trump administration has fired a slew of high-profile general and flag officers since taking office in January, in many instances due to Hegseth's campaign against diversity-related issues, but often also for unspecified reasons. Hegseth also ordered the Defence Department in May to cut the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20 percent.
The officers who have been fired thus far include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen CQ Brown; Admiral Lisa Franchetti, former Chief of Naval Operations; Admiral Linda Fagan, former Commandant of the Coast Guard; General James Slife, former vice chief of the Air Force; Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, former head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency; Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, former chief of the Navy Reserve; and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, former head of Naval Special Warfare Command.
Before taking on the role of defence secretary, Hegseth repeatedly voiced disdain for much of the military's currently serving general and flag officer corps. In a podcast appearance last summer, Hegseth said a third of the military's senior officers are "actively complicit" in what he argued is a move towards politicization of the military. In a second podcast, he said senior officers are "playing by all the wrong rules" to cater to "idealogues in Washington, DC."
-CNN
