Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of U.S. military generals and admirals to attend a rare meeting at a U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, next Tuesday.
According to The Washington Post, over a dozen sources familiar with next week’s meeting told the outlet that Hegseth ordered U.S. military leaders earlier this week to attend a meeting next week in Quantico without a reason being given.
Fox News reported that multiple War Department officials confirmed the directive to the outlet and noted that the reason behind the meeting has not yet been announced. In a statement obtained by the outlet, Sean Parnell, the chief spokesman of the Pentagon, said, “The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”
According to The Washington Post, there currently are roughly 800 generals and admirals in the United States and across the world. Sources familiar with the upcoming meeting told the outlet that Hegseth’s order is for all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or higher and the Navy equivalent of a brigadier general who are currently serving in command positions, as well as their top enlisted advisers.
An anonymous source who saw a copy of Hegseth’s order told The Washington Post that the order reads, “All general officers in command in grade O-7 through O-10 and their general officer senior enlisted advisers are directed to attend within operational constraints.” The source confirmed that the grade designation is a reference to the U.S. military’s generals and admirals.
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Fox News reported that the Pentagon would usually hold a meeting with such a large number of top military leaders on a secure video teleconference rather than in person.
An anonymous source told CNN that due to the secrecy surrounding the upcoming Pentagon meeting, theories, such as a briefing on the current state of the Defense Department, a physical fitness test, or a mass firing of senior military leaders, have been discussed. “It’s being referred to as the general squid games,” one official told the outlet.
During a press conference on Thursday, President Donald Trump was asked about next week’s meeting. In response, the president suggested, “Isn’t it nice that people are coming from all over the world to meet?”
CNN reported that the president indicated that the meeting would involve a review of U.S. military equipment.
“We have the greatest equipment in the world,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of generals want to be here. They’re also going to be touring equipment sites. They’re going to be talking about the newest weapons.”
