This photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leaves after attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gives a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, September 30, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) that the United States has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20%, in a move he said is aimed at “accountability.”

Mr. Hegseth suggested the cuts targeted officers who failed to get on board with his efforts to ensure the military is focused on war-fighting rather than the “woke” policies of previous administrations, describing the reductions as an “accomplishment.”

“The number-crunchers say we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force,” Mr. Hegseth told troops at the Quantico military base, saying: “We’ve also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10%.”

“So yes, 20% reduction across the board,” he said. “The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue.”

The address to junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico came a year after a similar speech to top officers in which Mr. Hegseth said the U.S. military was too fat, too focused on leftist “woke” ideas, and in need of major shake-up.

He said Wednesday that top officers who “responded positively” to the previous speech are “leading newly focused and newly empowered and disciplined formations,” while those who did not “no longer work here.”

“We are no longer the woke department, or the weak department,” Mr. Hegseth said.

“Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors — just tough, ready, committed troops.”

Cutting ‘fat’

Mr. Hegseth ordered major cuts to the U.S. military — including a 10% reduction in the overall number of generals and admirals and a 20% decrease in the highest four-star ranks — in May 2025.

There were 831 active-duty U.S. generals and admirals as of the end of that month, but Pentagon figures from the end of July 2026 — the latest available — showed there were actually more top officers — a total of 851.

Asked to clarify if the 20% cuts had been completed or were still ongoing, the Pentagon said: “We have nothing further to provide beyond the secretary’s comments.”

During his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Mr. Hegseth argued that the Pentagon’s bureaucracy was top-heavy and in need of cuts.

“It’s going to be my job, working with those that we hire and those inside the administration, to identify those places where fat can be cut, so it can go toward lethality,” he told lawmakers at the time.

Since returning to office early last year, Mr. Trump has overseen a purge of top military personnel, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February 2025.

Other senior officers pushed out include the heads of the US Army, Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers.

The chief of staff of the Air Force also announced his retirement without explanation just two years into a four-year term, while the head of US Southern Command retired a year into his tenure.

Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral U.S. military.

Project co-led by Musk

In his speech, Mr. Hegseth also announced a new project on “the future of warfare” co-led by Elon Musk, marking the tech billionaire’s return to a role in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Mr. Hegseth said “Project Meridian” will be “an effort led by America’s best minds to study the future of warfare” under the Pentagon’s top technology official Emil Michael.

Mr. Musk will be a co-leader alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defence technology company Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old Republican former House Speaker.

Mr. Hegseth said the project’s purpose is to “creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master,” though he stressed the project is not about developing new strategies or policies.

The project will include hand-picked private sector leaders and subject matter experts, with findings expected to be completed and submitted within 120 days.

Published – October 01, 2026 10:03 pm IST

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced some major changes to the U.S. military on Wednesday in what he called his “State of the Force” address, including establishing a new drone command and cutting 20% of the nation’s generals and admirals.

The Pentagon will also launch an effort to study the future of warfare that will be led in part by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Mr. Hegseth said. The Defence Department will create an Office of Religious Affairs and plans to build a new base for the first time in 40 years, he added.

Mr. Hegseth made the announcements to junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia — the second year in a row that he has given such an address. But this time, the U.S. military is seven months into a war with Iran with no clear end in sight, has captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and has killed more than 200 people in strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in Latin America, among other actions worldwide.

The speech is not a usual fixture among Pentagon leaders. While Mr. Hegseth’s predecessors have regularly addressed troops and top officers, they have traditionally done so in small or private settings.

The Pentagon chief, however, again led with how he has drastically retooled the U.S. military by targeting what he calls “woke” culture — through a rollback of diversity programs, a review of ground combat units with female troops and a new screening programme for “testosterone deficiency” among male personnel.

Mr. Hegseth announces a new drone-focused warfare command

The Pentagon chief announced the creation of a new four-star command to oversee the rollout of autonomous and robotic capabilities in what he called “the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history.”

He acknowledged that “the pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it.” Iran commonly uses cheap drones, including those that have killed U.S. troops during the seven-month war. Mr. Hegseth pointed to Ukraine’s pioneering use of drones to combat Russian forces — something American forces have learned from firsthand.

“Ukraine’s lesson is not that one type of drone wins wars, but rather the need for a purpose-built system that maximises the ability to adapt,” Mr. Hegseth said.

However, a U.S. Army unit based in Europe that specialised in drone warfare was ordered recently to end its efforts and return to being a traditional infantry battalion.

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A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers subsequently asked the Army to explain the order, given that the world’s battlefields are rapidly evolving and military tactics increasingly rely on uncrewed systems to fight.

The new drone command comes as the U.S. is in a stalemate with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy shipping corridor. The war has forced American forces in the region to expend hundreds of expensive missile interceptors to defend against Iran’s missile and drone attacks, which have still managed to kill and wound U.S. troops.

Mr. Hegseth repeated claims that the U.S. military has destroyed Iran’s navy, air force and defence systems, as well as many of its leaders and its industrial base. But Tehran has continued to launch intermittent drone and missile attacks against U.S. or allied bases, while maintaining its ability to strike commercial and military ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

During his speech, Mr. Hegseth touted the Trump administration’s major investments in the defence industry and push for contractors to speed up their work to expand the nation’s weapons arsenals. But experts say U.S. military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of key weapons systems used heavily in the Iran war.

Mr. Hegseth faces questions from lawmakers over cuts to general ranks

Mr. Hegseth said he directed the military services to double the 10% reduction he ordered last spring for roughly 800 flag and general officer positions, to a 20% decrease to be completed by January 1, 2027.

“I call it accountability and long overdue,” he said.

Some members of Congress have criticised the war and the drawdown of munitions stockpiles, while calling the latest cuts to the general ranks a “purge” that will take years to rebuild.

“He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,” said Senator Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot who has been critical of Mr. Hegseth. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.”

Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wanted to understand Mr. Hegseth’s reasoning.

“If it’s simply a matter of eliminating a very heavy top, there may be some validity to it, but I want to see it first,” Mr. Rounds said.

Mr. Musk and Mr. Gingrich to lead a study of future warfare

In innovating the next wave of weapons systems, Hegseth announced an effort to study the future of warfare led by Mr. Musk, Mr. Gingrich and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril Industries.

Mr. Hegseth said the work “will be focused on discovering, developing and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes.” He pointed to the need to dominate “any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon.”

This month, the U.S. confirmed for the first time that it had deployed weapons in space, a remarkable revelation after previous warnings about countries such as Russia possibly weaponising a global frontier long agreed in treaties to be used for only peaceful purposes.

Among the other announcements was the unveiling of a plan to build a new military base, with Mr. Hegseth inviting all 50 states to compete for the chance to play host to 15,000 to 20,000 service members. He also announced a plan to make every military base self-powered.

Published – October 01, 2026 08:16 am IST

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump.

West Asia war LIVE updates on June 23, 2026

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday (June 22, 2026) evening.

A top Deputy Defence Secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorised to discuss it publicly.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the developments.

Push for Pentagon money faces skeptical lawmakers

The push for billions of dollars in Iran war funding comes at a fraught political moment. Lawmakers are sceptical of the deal Mr. Trump struck with Iran to bring an end to the war, and wary of next steps.

The White House has requested a remarkable $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon – a nearly 50% increase over the current fiscal year’s funding levels.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s expecting a supplemental spending request from the administration for the war, and when it arrives, “we’ll work through it and see where the votes are”.

“We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to replenish, resupply a lot of our munitions that have been depleted – not only just with what’s happening with Iran, but prior to that,” Mr. Thune said. .

Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg spoke to several senators about the proposal in calls last week, and he notified congressional committees that the $80 billion request had been sent to the Office of Management and Budget. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, the funding package will almost certainly run into trouble from lawmakers who refuse to support Mr. Trump’s decision to go to war and are reluctant to give the Pentagon more money at a time of high costs of living for Americans at home.

“You’re spending families’ hard-earned tax dollars on a war that many strongly oppose,” Democratic Senator Patty Murray told Mr. Hegseth in a hearing last month.

Mr. Trump seeks record $1.5 trillion for defence this year

Trump seeks record $1.5 trillion for defence this year

In addition to the Iran funding, Republicans hope to secure about $1.1 trillion through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from both parties for approval. Then, they hope to secure an additional $350 billion through a mostly party-line vote later this summer.

The amount being sought by the Pentagon is far higher than the $29 billion estimate of war costs that Hegseth gave Congress during his testimony last month.

The bulk of that amount was related to replacing munitions and repairing equipment, but also included operational costs to keep forces deployed. That estimate did not include the cost to repair or rebuild U.S. military sites damaged in the region.

It’s also far lower than the initial $200 billion the Pentagon floated as the costs at the start of the war. An early estimate put the cost of the first week of the war at $11.3 billion.

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a member of the Democratic party leadership, said he expects the actual price tag could be much higher than the $80 billion being proposed.

Schatz said he hasn’t done any counting of Democrats about whether there is support for an Iran-focused bill, “but I haven’t found anyone who wants to do this”.

But Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana said, “To me it’s less about the war, it’s more about the stockpiles.” Mr. Banks said, “I would sell it to my state as an investment in our defense industrial base, reshoring defense production to Indiana.”

Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said funding for an Iran supplemental can’t be done in isolation.

It has to be done after lawmakers from both parties have agreed to a total spending amount for both defence and non-defence programs, “then the rest of this would follow pretty quickly”, Mr. Reed said.

And Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on Defence, said he has been working with the administration to broaden the package to include funds for disaster aid for California, Hawaii and other states hard hit by fires and weather problems, as well as agricultural aid for farmers.

“I think that’s the kind of combination that could pass,” Mr. Hoeven said.

Mr. Hegseth declined to answer questions from reporters late Monday (June 22, 2026) as he strode around the Capitol.

But on the issue of the cost of the war, Mr. Hegseth responded rhetorically during a Senate hearing last month, asking, “What is the cost of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon?”

He acknowledged the President’s decision to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran “comes with cost — and we recognise that.”

Published – June 23, 2026 11:27 am IST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to enlistees after they swear an oath to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, during an Enlistee Recognition Ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
| Photo Credit: ELIZABETH FRANTZ