Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on hundreds of military generals and admirals for a meeting in Quantico, Virginia, next week, according to numerous reports. Almost none of them know what that meeting is about.
Hegseth meeting
“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to CBS News.
The Pentagon provided no other details.
The Secretary of Defense has regularly scheduled meetings with senior military leaders, but one of this size on this short notice is unprecedented.
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Invitations were sent to virtually all 800 generals and admirals worldwide, according to sources from The Washington Post. Anyone with a rank of brigadier general or above, each of whom typically oversees thousands of troops, is expected to be at the meeting.
The Department of Defense utilizes a highly secure video conferencing technology that it often uses.
“You don’t call [general officers and flag officers] leading their people and the global force into an auditorium outside D.C. and not tell them why/what the topic or agenda is,” one source close to the matter told The Washington Post.
White House response
Reporters asked President Donald Trump about the meeting on Thursday from the Oval Office.
“I love it,” Trump said. “And I think it’s great. Let him be friendly. Let him be friendly with the generals and admirals from all over the world. Why? But is there something wrong?”
Trump said he will be there if “they want me,” but he downplayed the significance of the meeting.
“Why is that such a big deal?” Trump said. “The fact that we’re getting along with the generals and admirals? Remember, I’m the president of peace. It’s good to get along. It’s good. You act like this is a bad thing. Isn’t it nice that people are coming from all over the world to be with us?”
Trump recently renamed the DOD to the Department of War and Hegseth to Secretary of War, but only Congress can officially change the names.
When asked about this meeting, Vice President JD Vance shared similar sentiments.
“It’s not particularly unusual that generals who report to the Secretary of War and then to the President of the United States are coming to speak with the Secretary of War,” Vance said. “It’s actually not unusual at all. I think it’s odd that you guys have made it into such a big story.”
Meeting backdrop
The meeting comes at a time when a government shutdown is very much on the table. That means paychecks for enlisted members will be delayed, but they’ll all still need to report for duty.
“People are very concerned,” one person familiar with the matter said to the Post. “They have no idea what it means.”
It also comes after Hegseth said he wants to reduce the number of generals and admirals in the ranks.
Some officials said he might roll out the National Defense Strategy, which is released every four years. However, others were doubtful he’d call all these people together to unveil a strategy or lecture on military standards.
“You’re not pulling out everyone in the room to bring them over to say, ‘Stop painting your nails because we’re a war-fighting organization,’” a source said to the Post.
