Defence secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned scores of generals and admirals from around the world to meet on short notice next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia but has not disclosed the reason for the gathering, four US officials said Thursday. The unusual directive, which has been filtering its way through military commands, and the undisclosed rationale, has stirred anxiety among the military’s top ranks at a time when Hegseth has fired several senior officers.The officials said the gathering was scheduled for next week, probably Sept 30, at the base in Quantico, Virginia. There are about 800 general-level officers in the armed forces, including 44 at the most senior, four-star level. It was not immediately clear how many of them would be ordered to the gathering, reported earlier by the Washington Post.In May, Hegseth ordered a 20% reduction in four-star officers, continuing the broad job reductions and firings that have marked the first several months of his tenure. Hegseth has already fired more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of colour and women. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.” Top four-star combatant commanders and chiefs of armed services typically meet at least twice a year in Washington, often holding a working dinner with the president. But the large number of generals who could be ordered to Washington, including those working in active conflict zones, is without precedent in recent memory, officials said.
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