Defense secretary Pete Hegseth to Address Hundreds of Top Military Officers on ’Warrior Ethos’ in Unprecedented Meeting
QUANTICO, VA – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to convene a rare gathering of hundreds of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday, sources confirm to ABC News. The meeting will center on Hegseth’s focus on restoring the “warrior ethos” within the armed forces, and will include a discussion of new standards associated with achieving that goal and how the U.S. military will conduct itself.
The unusual scale of the meeting – bringing together a important portion of the nation’s general and admiral corps – has sparked speculation within the Pentagon. While meetings between defense secretaries and senior military leaders are commonplace, it is indeed exceptionally rare for so many high-ranking officers to be assembled in one location for a single address.
According to Pentagon statistics from June, there are 838 total general officers and admirals on active duty, with 446 holding the higher ranks of two-star, three-star, and four-star. The Pentagon will record video of Tuesday’s meeting for future public distribution.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson declined to comment on the specifics of Hegseth’s planned remarks. Hegseth regularly emphasizes the importance of the warrior ethos during speaking engagements both domestically and internationally.
The gathering has also raised questions regarding logistical considerations, including increased security requirements at Quantico, located 35 miles south of Washington, D.C., and the significant travel and lodging costs associated with transporting so many senior officers and their senior enlisted advisors.
The invitations sent to officers in command positions earlier this week did not specify a topic or reason for the meeting, fueling speculation that it may be connected to Hegseth’s previously announced plan to reduce the number of four-star officers by 20%. Concerns have also been raised regarding Hegseth’s prior decisions to remove 15 senior military officers from their posts, including Gen. Charles ”CQ” Brown Jr., former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former Navy’s top admiral.
