ISTANBUL
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of US Army generals and Navy admirals to gather at a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week for a meeting without providing a specific reason, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The directive was sent to nearly all senior commanders worldwide, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the matter cited by the newspaper. The state of Virginia, just south of Washington, DC, is also home to the Pentagon.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Thursday that Hegseth will address senior military leaders early next week but provided no additional details.
Sources told the outlet that Hegseth's order applies to all senior officers at the rank of brigadier general and above, or their naval equivalents, those in command positions, and top advisors.
Senior commanders in conflict zones and military leaders in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific region are expected to attend Hegseth's meeting, according to the sources.
A new national defense strategy that would make homeland security the country's top priority could be discussed at the meeting, some officials said.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Anadolu's request for comment on the story.
Some sources voiced skepticism about the directive, saying this is "not how this is done" and characterizing it as "weird" to summon all the top officers back to Washington.
The orders follow a series of major changes by Hegseth at the Pentagon, including cutting the number of generals by 20% and rebranding the Defense Department the War Department, though so far without an official change in name.
Hegseth's May directive to remove approximately 100 generals and admirals also caused concern among senior military leaders, the outlet said.
His tenure as defense chief has also been marked by controversies over lax security, Hegseth’s views on women, and whether he has the administrative skills to steer the massive Pentagon bureaucracy.