Pit Hegset orders 20% cut to generals and names Elon Musk to Project Meridian

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pit Hegset announced at Marine Corps Base Quantico on October 1, 2026 that he will eliminate 20 percent of general- and admiral-level billets across the armed forces, expanding an earlier plan to cut such positions from 10 to 20 percent. The reductions are to be completed by January 1, 2027.

Details, scale and political fallout

According to Pentagon figures cited by the secretary, there are roughly 850 generals and admirals in the U.S. military today; they exercise authority over more than 1.3 million active-duty service members. Nearly 800,000 more serve in the National Guard and reserve components. Hegset told the audience he had ordered the services to double the cuts he mandated in spring 2026.

The announcement has already drawn criticism from former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who warned that the armed forces draw strength from reflecting the full spectrum of American society and argued the timing—amid a war with Iran—risks shedding commanders with combat experience. Panetta voiced those objections in an interview with CNN.

Since taking office in January 2025 at President Donald Trump's direction, Hegset has presided over a broad personnel shake-up at the top of the military. In the days before the war with Iran began in late February, he dismissed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles K. Brown Jr. and Navy commander Lisa Franchetti. Other senior officers have retired or resigned; the secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, stepped down in early September after repeated disputes with Hegset.

Hegset, who has previously styled himself the "minister of war," has frequently framed his reforms in cultural terms—criticizing diversity and inclusion initiatives and, in past remarks, labeling some troops as too "fat" and imposing fitness programs as a condition for continued service.

Separately, Hegset said the Pentagon will launch "Project Meridian," a new initiative to study the future of warfare. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk will be among several public figures tapped to lead the effort, whose aim is, in Hegset's words, "to look creatively at the future and identify the areas we must seize and the capabilities we must master." The secretary expects preliminary results from the project within 120 days and highlighted concerns about autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence that could act without direct human control.

Photo: press material from the event