The latest:
A new four-star command overseeing autonomous and robotic systems will be stood up at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday in what he called a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He paired it with an order doubling planned cuts to the ranks of generals and admirals to 20%, calling the move long-overdue accountability.
Details:
- The drone command: Hegseth said the new four-star command would oversee the fielding of autonomous and robotic capabilities, describing the effort as the fastest peacetime transformation in modern military history, according to the Associated Press. He acknowledged that the pace of war is changing faster than the operations meant to support it.
- The contradiction: A US Army unit based in Europe and specialized in drone warfare was recently ordered to wind down its work and revert to a conventional infantry battalion, the AP reported. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has asked the Army to explain the decision as battlefields shift toward unmanned systems.
- The numbers: Hegseth said he directed the armed forces to double the 10% cut he ordered last spring to roughly 800 general and flag officer positions, taking it to 20% by January 1, 2027. He has already fired or blocked the promotion of more than 80 generals and admirals since taking office.
- Who was removed: Nearly half of those fired or sidelined were women or minority officers, the New York Times reported. Hegseth, citing figures published by the paper, said statistical analysts put the share of generals and admirals removed across the force at about 10%, and called that roughly accurate.
- The pushback: Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and former Navy combat pilot, accused Hegseth of purging a generation of commanders and said recovery would take a generation. Republican Senator Mike Rounds said he wanted the rationale first, allowing that trimming a top-heavy structure could have merit.
- The futures study: Hegseth announced an initiative on the future of warfare led by SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey. He said it would focus on weapons his children and grandchildren would need, and on dominating any battlefield from underground to beyond the moon.
- The base plan: Hegseth invited all 50 states to compete to host a new military base of between 15,000 and 25,000 troops, the first built in four decades. He also announced plans to make every installation energy self-sufficient so bases stay powered through a cyberattack or sabotage, plus a new office of religious affairs.
- The war backdrop: US forces are seven months into a war with Iran with no clear end, the AP reported. Hegseth repeated that American forces destroyed Iran’s navy, air force, air defenses and defense industrial base, while Tehran continues intermittent drone and missile attacks and can still strike shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
- The money problem: The Pentagon is operating on last year’s roughly $890 billion budget, about 40% below current spending, diverting barracks, training and procurement funds to sustain 50,000 troops in the Middle East, the Times reported. A $1.5 trillion defense budget request is stalled in Congress.
- Republican frustration: Senator Joni Ernst said Hegseth barely works with Republican senators and called for more transparency. Representative Don Bacon said lawmakers felt misled over troop withdrawals from Poland and Romania. The Pentagon’s $67 billion Iran funding request ran seven pages, against the 100-plus-page Iraq and Afghanistan bills.
Background:
It was Hegseth’s second annual address of this kind. Last year he spoke to more than 800 generals in the same venue, blaming them for restrictive rules of engagement and what he called toxic ideological garbage. This year’s audience was about 600 junior officers and enlisted leaders.
Between the lines:
The gap between ambition and authority is the story. A four-star command, a new base and energy-independent installations all require appropriations from a Congress that has not passed a Pentagon spending bill, is withholding confirmations for Hegseth’s service chief replacements, and says it cannot get basic answers on Iran. The Times reported that Trump’s own Golden Dome missile shield may stall as a result.
What’s next
Watch the midterm results, the fate of the $1.5 trillion defense budget request, Senate action on Hegseth’s stalled Pentagon nominees, and whether the Army explains the disbanded European drone unit to lawmakers.
