Some of those senior officers would also likely travel with at least one
aide as well as their communications personnel, who are responsible for
securing the senior officers’ communications with their commands. Some
will also have their own security. Those additional personnel, all
typically seen as critical, could easily quadruple to more than 3,000
the number of military members having to come to Washington on short
notice.
[...] The meeting comes as a government shutdown looms, potentially happening the day after the meeting. That could complicate attendees’ travel home.
President Donald Trump on Thursday brushed off any concerns about the meeting.
“I know, I love it, I mean I think it’s great,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Secretary
of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters at the Pentagon, July 16,
2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned the military’s top officers —
hundreds of generals and admirals — to a base in northern Virginia for a
sudden meeting next week, according to three people familiar with the
matter.
The
directive did not offer a reason for the gathering Tuesday of senior
commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers at the
Marine Corps base in Quantico. The people, who described the move as
unusual, were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive plans and
spoke on condition of anonymity.
The
Pentagon’s top spokesman, Sean Parnell, confirmed that Hegseth “will be
addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”
Across
the military, there are 800 generals and admirals of all ranks. Many
command thousands of service members and are stationed across the world
in more than a dozen countries and time zones.
The
meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, comes on the heels of
several unusual and unexplained actions that Hegseth has taken involving
military leaders.
In
May, Hegseth ordered that the military cut 20% of its four-star general
officers, directed an additional 10% cut from all general and flag
officers across the force, and told the National Guard to shed 20% of
its top positions.
In
February, Hegseth fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer,
and Gen. James Slife, the Air Force’s second highest officer, without
explanation. He also relieved the military’s top lawyers.
New Pentagon strategy to focus on homeland, Western Hemisphere
China remains a top national security threat, officials tell Military Times
By Carla Babb
The
Pentagon’s top national security focus will mirror that of President
Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, with a focus on protecting the
homeland and the Western Hemisphere, U.S. officials told Military Times.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
The
Pentagon’s top national security focus will mirror that of President
Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, with multiple U.S. officials
telling Military Times that the department will prioritize protecting
the homeland and the Western Hemisphere.
Countering
China will remain a key national security interest of the new National
Defense Strategy, which is expected to be released soon, officials said.
The
Pentagon document lays out the military’s plans to increase lethality,
deter aggression, confront adversaries and defend America’s borders, a
mission one official said was “why Trump was elected.”
Republican
voters in the 2024 presidential election ranked the economy and
immigration as their most important issues, which Trump vowed to address
and bring under control. On Jan. 20, on his first day in office, Trump
signed an executive order
calling on U.S. Northern Command to help “seal the borders and maintain
the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the United
States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration,
narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking and other
criminal activities.”
“[Protecting]
the border is the top priority for the base, and I think for moderates,
too. So this shift is fulfilling that promise,” said one official, who
spoke to Military Times on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive
policy information.
hundreds of top officials meet in person next week as a kumbaya
moment, even as some defense officials feared it would prove little more
than a photo op.
“It’s
great when generals and top people want to come to the United States to
be with a now-called secretary of War,” Trump said during a signing of
executive orders, referring to his new rebrand of the Defense Department.
Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth has not said why he wants generals and admirals
serving around the globe to show up for a meeting at the Marine Corps
base in Quantico, Virginia, according to three defense officials, who
said they and their colleagues were floored by the move.
The
sudden meeting has led to frantic travel plans and concerns from some
defense officials, who worry about the disruption it will cause to their
schedules and the security aspects of having most of the military’s top
officers in one place.
Holy Jeez, this calls for doggerel.
I do not trust this Hegseth chap I think the man is pure mishap He rings all top brass into town Fan loading up with Congress down
Yes, a shurtdown is looming. And, yes, I could have ended the second line with a differing rhyme word.
