Pete Hegseth has called for an urgent meeting next week at a Virginia base with the military’s top officers, including hundreds of generals and admirals, The Associated Press reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. While no formal agenda has been announced, one official told CNN the gathering is being referred to in inner circles as “general squid games.”
According to the AP, the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and will bring together senior commanders of one-star rank or higher, along with their top advisers, at the Marine Corps base in Quantico.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”
One source told CNN that speculation has ranged from a large-scale physical fitness test to a Defense Department briefing—or even the possibility of mass firings of officers. However, nothing has been confirmed.
Across the military, there are roughly 800 generals and admirals of all ranks. Many oversee thousands of service members stationed worldwide in more than a dozen countries and time zones.
The meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, follows a series of unusual and unexplained decisions Hegseth has made involving senior leadership.
In May, he ordered a 20% cut in four-star general officers, directed an additional 10% reduction in all general and flag officers across the services, and instructed the National Guard to eliminate 20% of its top positions.
Earlier this year, in February, Hegseth dismissed Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer, and Gen. James Slife, the Air Force’s second-highest-ranking officer, without explanation. He also removed the military’s top legal officials.
