Pentagon chief orders US military officials from around the world to Virginia next week

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By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned senior U.S. military officers from around the world to a meeting in Quantico, Virginia next week, five officials told Reuters on Thursday, a rare gathering of U.S. military leadership in one location.

It was not clear why Hegseth has ordered the generals and admirals to meet in one place on such short notice, and two of the officials said this has created uncertainty among the expected attendees.

Senior military officials in some cases command thousands of troops. Most have detailed schedules weeks in advance, which have now been upended.

“People are scrambling to change their plans and see if they have to attend,” one U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

It was unclear how many officials will actually attend the event, but it is rare to have so many senior officials in the same room at the same time. 

Asked for comment, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said only: “The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.” Trump has ordered the department to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress.

Parnell’s office did not respond to questions about the number of officers, purpose of the meeting or why Hegseth called so abruptly.

At the White House, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said such a meeting was “not unusual at all.”

The U.S. has troops around the world, including in distant locations like South Korea, Japan and across the Middle East– which are commanded by two, three and four-star generals and admirals. 

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.

In February, he fired Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of U.S. military leadership.

Last month, Hegseth fired the head of the Pentagon’s intelligence agency and two other senior military commanders.

In May, Hegseth ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers. In that May memo, Hegseth said there would also be a minimum 20% reduction in the number of general officers in the National Guard and an additional 10% reduction among general and flag officers across the military.

“More generals and admirals does not lead to more success,” Hegseth said at the time. 

Now, many of those generals and admirals will be in the same room.

“It’s probably more mundane than people think… (but) the lack of clarity isn’t helping,” the official said. 

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by David Gregorio)