On Tuesday, September 30, Secretary of War Pete Hegseeth will bring hundreds of our generals and admirals to Quantico for what comes down to massive leadership formation. The agenda is opaque, the logistics unusual and the bet high. Now that President Donald Trump is now planning to attend, the meeting also risks to become a signal about civil military relations as about readyness. What should Americans get from it – and what should our flag officers hear?
First let’s refrain from the novelty. Large, personal convocations of almost the entire general and flag officer Corps are rare. Reporting indicates that HegseTh is planning to hammer ‘Warrior Ethos’, care and standards-a unmistakable course correction message to a force that is struggling with recruitment, retention and trust of the public. Whether any rumor about mass hires is exaggerated or not, the shape and timing are extraordinary.
Second, size and scale is matter. According to Pentagon counts there are this summer, there are around 838 active generals and admirals. Independent analysis notes that asking “over 800” would approach the total population – hence the shock about the commands. Even if the real presence is lower due to the exemptions of the staff, it is still unprecedented.
Trump to attend the unprecedented meeting of Tuesday of American military commanders
Third, context is important. Trump’s decision to appear adds a political indictment that cannot avoid speech. Some will see a moral boost, others, politicization. In a constitutional republic, civil control over the army is not a theater – it is principle. When hundreds of flag officers gather under cameras and spotlights, allies and opponents read the optic. That is why the clarity of the goal and the limitation of Toon is so important as content.
President Donald Trump, vice-president JD VANCE, Minister of War Pete Hegseeth and Majoor-General Trevor Bredenkamp, General Commander of the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the US Army Military District of Washington, Law on Arlington, Die Cmorian in the Cerlingon, in Arlingy, in the Cereton, Rans in Arlingy, Rans in Arlingy, Rans in Arlingy, Rans in Arlingy in the Cereter-Ranskrans in Arling. Arlington, from, returns 26 May 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Fourth, history is important – especially the comparison that so many many already make. At the end of the Second World War, around 12.2 million Americans were in active service (about 16 million at a certain point in the war), and there were just over 2,000 general and flag officers – a ratio around 1: 6,000. Today we have around 1.3 million active staff and around 800-840 flag officers-one ratio closer to 1: 1500. Reasonable people can debate the correct number, but the trend line cannot be denied: the general and flag functions (GO/FO) Corps has grown as a share in total force.
So what should this meeting achieve?
1. Place “Warrior Ethos” back where it belongs: in readyness, no rhetoric. Fitness standards, competence of small units and combat-credit training are not partisan problems. They are the foundation of deterrence. If HegseTh is a cargo focusing on measurable output – employable readyness, training representatives who think the fight, and clear, published standards that are maintained without fear or favor – he will have broad support in the ranks and under taxpayers. The announcement of a short list of concrete preparative petries that it publicly reports would be a solid start.
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2. Depolitize the flag ranges – with an example as much as incentive. The most certain way to keep the army out of politics is that political leaders keep politics outside the army. That cuts both sides. The secretary can demand commanders that standards maintain and close ideological litmus parties – from any direction. He can also reconfirm that promotions, clubs and reliefs will be based on performance and war fights, not on Twitter/X storms or cable news. The presence of the supreme commander increases the temperature; The comments must lower it.
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3. Right format and lay the head office without carrying out the power. If the reduction of general/flagbilets is coming, they must be the target of overhead and personnel inflation, not on the command chains that we need on the day of a crisis. The department has previously experienced shuttle fluctuations. A fundamental framework – binding bills on mission, eliminating double structures, switching sources to operational units – beats a blunt “slash the stars” head. CRS has documented how the Go/Fo Share has been designed for decades, even when the final strength dropped; Use this moment to reverse Bloat where it does not touch a combat force.
4. Speak clearly with the strategic environment. While Washington is striking on the spectacle, Beijing, Moscow and Tehran cards. A massive recall can be read incorrectly abroad. The message to the generals must be unambiguous: American joint forces will retain the worldwide presence of the command, Allied obligations and crisis response timelines uninterrupted. Every reorganization must improve and improve the fight for the western Pacific, Europe or CentCcom in the short term.
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5) Trust recovery from the country. The American people expect two things from their army: win wars and stay from politics. The way to do both is to tailor to the mission by words, norms and structure. Invite public accountability – publish the statistics that matter, acknowledge where we are short and show the plan to solve it. This transparency will calm up speculation and strengthen civil confidence.
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When hundreds of flag officers gather under cameras and spotlights, allies and opponents read the optic. That is why the clarity of the goal and the limitation of Toon is so important as content.
Critics will ask why everyone meets personally when the safe video exists. It is a fair question. But if Hegseeth uses the moment to set up uniting, apolitical expectations; To define willingness in terms that are important for war fighters; And to carefully limit the bureaucracy, so that resources flow to the edge, the meeting is worth the disruption. If it becomes a Pep -Rally or a coil rumor mill, it will do more harm than good.
America has always corrected its armed forces in eras of danger. What we cannot do is to confuse Showmanship for strategy. The correct load for the flag ranges is intentionally wide brush – because the mission is. Require a harder force, a cleaner command structure, a slimmer head office and an army that remembers who serves it and what it is for. That is a message that is worth bringing the generals to hear.
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