Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered the U.S. military to cut 20% of its four-star generals and admirals, part of a wider effort to shrink the Pentagon’s top leadership. 

The order, laid out in a memo obtained by CNN, also directed the National Guard to eliminate 20% of its senior leadership positions. 

The directive also calls for a 10% reduction in general and flag officers. There are currently around 900 general and flag officers across the U.S. military, all holding the rank of one-star or higher.

According to CNN and subsequently confirmed by Konstantin Toropin, U.S. Secretary of State Pete Hegseth signed a memo today ordering reductions to 4-star general and admiral positions, reductions to general and flag officers in the National Guard, and reductions subordinate to… pic.twitter.com/WXYwMQvbuu

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 5, 2025

Hegseth said the goal is to streamline command and remove unnecessary layers. “More generals and admirals does not lead to more success,” he said in a video posted to X.

Introducing the “Less Generals More GIs Policy.” pic.twitter.com/bQLRL2MqSC

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 5, 2025

“This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers,” he added, saying the changes were made with input from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The cuts come as part of a larger push from President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the size of the federal government and shift military focus to combat-ready units. Last week, Hegseth ordered the Army to shut down or merge some headquarters, cut outdated vehicles and aircraft, and reassign about 1,000 Pentagon staff to field units.

According to reports, the Pentagon is also considering merging certain combatant commands, such as U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.