Hundreds of American generals and admirals from around the world have been summoned to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next Tuesday, several U.S. officials told CNN, although the reason for the meeting remains unclear.
The meeting is expected to take place at the Quantico military base in Virginia, officials said, noting that no one seems to know what it is about or why it was suddenly added to the calendar.
One well-placed source said they had heard theories ranging from a group physical fitness test to a briefing on the state of the Department of Defense. Others speculated it could involve a mass dismissal of officers. Regardless of the reason, the sudden gathering of so many high-ranking officers is highly unusual.
“It’s being jokingly called a ‘general squid games,’” one official said.
Several officials also expressed concerns about security risks related to so many senior officers being in one place at the same time. A congressional aide told CNN that, “Unless Hegseth is planning 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.”
The Washington Post was the first to report on the planned meeting early Thursday.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth will “address his senior military leadership at the start of next week.” The Pentagon did not respond to specific questions about the purpose of the meeting or whether the directive applied to all generals and flag officers across the services.
The meeting comes as the Trump administration has dismissed a number of high-ranking generals and officers since taking office in January, often due to Hegseth’s campaign against diversity-related issues, though in many cases for unspecified reasons.
In May, Hegseth also directed the Department of Defense to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20%.
