Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned scores, and perhaps hundreds, 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 U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The unusual directive, which has been filtering its way through military commands, and the undisclosed rationale, has stirred anxiety and concern among the military’s top ranks in a period when Mr. Hegseth has fired several senior officers.
The four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential meetings, confirmed that the gathering was scheduled for next Tuesday at the base in Quantico, Va.
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, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post.
When asked by reporters at the White House about the summit, President Trump initially appeared unfamiliar with Mr. Hegseth’s plans. He seemed to assume that the defense secretary was bringing foreign military officers in for a meeting.
“I think it is great; let him be friendly with generals and admirals from all over the world,” Mr. Trump replied. “Remember, I’m the president of peace.”
Vice President JD Vance interrupted to clarify that the summit was for U.S. generals and downplayed its significance.
“It’s not particularly unusual that 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,” Mr. Vance said. “I think it’s odd that you guys have made it into such a big story.”
Mr. Hegseth has made relatively few public appearances and has done almost no foreign travel this summer to meet with his commanders and foreign counterparts around the world. He is expected to resume overseas travel as soon as next month.
In May, Mr. Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in four-star officers and a 10 percent cut in all general-level officers, continuing the broad job reductions and firings that have marked the first several months of his tenure. Mr. Hegseth has also signaled that he wants to consolidate some of the military’s war-fighting commands and pare the number of generals and admirals there.
Mr. Hegseth has already fired more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women. He fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is Black; the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; and the U.S. military’s representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. He also pushed out Gen. David W. Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that Mr. Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” but he offered no additional details.
It was not clear what role if any Mr. Trump or White House aides had in ordering or approving the gathering, and if Mr. Trump would attend. Congressional officials said on Thursday they were caught off guard by the news of the impending high-level meeting.
The top four-star combatant commanders and the chiefs of the armed services typically meet at least twice a year in Washington, often holding a working dinner with the president. But the large number of lower-ranking generals and admirals in command positions who could also be ordered to Washington — including those working active conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa and Europe — is without precedent in recent memory, military officials said.
Senior Pentagon civilian and uniformed military leaders routinely conduct video calls to discuss sensitive operational or policy matters. But convening scores, and perhaps hundreds, of senior officers in one place raises security and logistical questions, several current and former officers said.
The summons comes as Mr. Hegseth has just cemented restrictions on how military and Pentagon officials can engage directly with the public. In a memo last week, he said that participation in many events now require written approval from the Pentagon’s press office. Exceptions include Pentagon-hosted industry meetings and some briefings involving foreign governments.
Mr. Hegseth’s top aides are also putting the finishing touches on a draft of a new national defense strategy for the Pentagon. The document, yet to be released, is reported to place homeland security, and defense of the Western Hemisphere, at the top of the priorities of what Mr. Trump is now calling the Department of War.