COLORADO SPRINGS — Two high-ranking retired military officers said they're not surprised by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's orders to cut senior ranks in the military by 20%.
Secretary Hegseth sent a memo to senior Pentagon leaders on Monday directing them to slash the number of four-star positions, general officers, and flag officers to remove "redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership."
The memo orders the Pentagon to cut the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20%, cut National Guard general officers by at least 20%, and reduce the total number of general and flag officers by at least 10%.
Rear Admiral Hank Bond (US Navy, Ret.) said this is not the first time the Department of Defense has made cuts to leadership roles.
"Over the years, there's always a check on the growth, maybe the disproportionate amount of growth of senior officers to just the general force of junior personnel in the enlisted force," said Admiral Bond. "And it's always nice to have more senior leaders around you to get things done. But this is not unusual in my thinking to reduce the number to manage within budgets that are under stress right now. My only concern would be the reduction of four stars."
He said there is always a risk with cuts and said he believes there will be a lot of risk discussions happening around reducing four-star flag officers and general officers in the Combatant Command and major Component Commands.
"When it comes to reducing at senior levels, there is a concern, but I think it's just a risk management concern that you would have in any business," said Admiral Bond.
Brigadier General Cary Chun (US Air Force, Ret.) said reorganizing the upper echelons of leadership could impact military readiness.
"To cut this amount from the, from the senior ranks of the military, I think will impact military readiness, because dictating these cuts will force the services to reorganize," said Brig. Gen. Chun.
He said he believes limiting the number of positions that young officers can strive to achieve one day could impact their overall morale. Right now, there are around 800 general officers across the military, including 44 four-star generals or flag officers.
"Even though these... cuts can be significant to our military, you know, we still have the greatest fighting force in the world. And so our military services, the joint war-fighting commands, they will adjust. They will make adjustments, and they will still be able to do their mission and defend our great nation," said Brig. Gen. Chun.
Secretary Hegseth has recently stated, including during his confirmation hearing, that there are too many senior generals in the military. He also directed the firing of the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. Air Force, Charles Quinton Brown Jr., back in February.
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Former Air Force Academy instructors speak out against proposed civilian cuts
Though no final decisions have been made, it's worth noting that service members who retire and then teach at the Academy are considered civilian instructors.
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