Hegseth orders hundreds of US generals to unusual meeting

US generals and admirals from all around the globe have been called to a meeting in Virginia with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The reason for the meeting is unclear. 

The meeting is expected to be held next Tuesday at the military installation in Quantico, Virginia. This event comes completely unexpected to the invited, as no one, not even the general and flag officers themselves, know what it is going to be about. 

Plenty of rumors are currently circulating, as a source familiar with CNN states. These range from receiving a briefing on the state of the Defense Department or a group fitness test to a mass firing of officers. Regardless of the reason, the summoning of these many military officials is highly peculiar.

"It's being referred to as the general squid games," one official quipped.

Some officials also voiced security concerns about having so many high-ranking officers in one place at the same time. A congressional aide told CNN that unless Hegseth planned to announce "a major new military campaign or a complete overhaul of the military command structure, I can't imagine a good reason for this."

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth will be "addressing his senior military leaders early next week." The Pentagon did not answer specific questions about the purpose of the meeting or if the directive was for all general and flag officers in the military.

It remains unclear if the issued order calls for all general and flag officers (those with the rank of one star or higher) or just the ones with leadership roles. 

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The news comes after the Trump administration has fired a number of high-profile general and flag officers since January 2025. In many cases these occurred due to Hegseth's campaign against diversity-related issues. In May, Hegseth even ordered the Defense Department to cut the number of four-star generals and admirals by 20%.