US defence secretary summons military leaders to Virginia mystery meeting

For what is anticipated to be a rare gathering, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned senior American military officers from their positions around the world to a meeting next week in Virginia.

The summons was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell after being reported in US media on Thursday.

Hegseth’s instructions to the generals and admirals to meet in Virginia were not immediately known, nor was it what the meeting’s agenda would be.

The US military employs approximately 800 generals and admirals, and these senior officers may be able to command thousands of soldiers, even in troubled overseas.

Most have well-planned schedules that are established weeks in advance. Under the condition of anonymity, a military official informed Reuters that those schedules have since been modified.

The official said that “people are trying to change their plans and see if they have to show up.”

Parnell, who was speaking to his senior military leaders the day before, said “The Secretary of War will be addressed to his senior military leaders” and declined to provide specifics about the meeting.

Trump expressed optimism about Hegseth’s meeting at a signing ceremony held on Thursday, praising the idea.

“I adore it. Trump remarked, “I think it’s fantastic. Let him make friends with world-renowned generals and admirals.

He also made an appearance to understate worries that the event might force military leaders to step down from positions essential to national security. He expressed surprise that the meeting, which was scheduled for Tuesday, had attracted national attention.

Why is that such a big deal, exactly? Trump contacted a reporter. “The fact that we’re getting along with the admirals and generals” Remember that I am the peace’s president. It’s beneficial to connect. It is excellent. You behave in such a negative way.

At the Oval Office meeting, Vice President JD Vance attempted to ignore the expected criticism.

According to Vance, “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,” adding that it was “odd” that reporters were asking about it.

He and Hegseth have embarked on a campaign to reimagine the Department of Defense since he took office in January for a second term.

For instance, they fired senior military figures like CQ Brown, a former Air Force general who was the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He stated that there would be an additional 10-percent reduction in the number of general and flag officers throughout the military in addition to the 20-percent reduction in the number of four-star officers he had ordered in May.

Hegseth has also urged the military to halt its diversity initiatives, and several officials have been fired for their alleged responsibilities in these programs.

Hegseth has instead demanded that the military “restore” its “warrior ethos” and increase its “lethality” in order to do so.

Trump signed a decree earlier this month that would make it his policy to refer to the Defense Department as the “Department of War,” as it had been up until 1949.