Top US military brass summoned to secretive meeting in Virginia

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued an extraordinary directive formally instructing hundreds of generals and admirals to converge next week at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia — but without revealing the meeting’s purpose.

The unprecedented summons has raised alarms within military ranks and stirred speculation about looming changes at the Pentagon, The Washington Post reports.

The order, which targets all commanders holding the rank of brigadier general or above (or naval equivalents), was dispatched globally to senior officers overseeing major commands, as well as their top enlisted advisers.

It comes amid a series of sweeping leadership shifts at the Defense Department under Hegseth, who earlier this year announced plans to slash the number of senior officers by as much as 20 percent.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that “Hegseth will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week”, but declined to furnish additional context.

Sources familiar with the directive, speaking anonymously, acknowledged its highly unusual nature, noting that even many overseas commanders are being questioned over whether they must attend. “People are very concerned. They have no idea what it means,” one official remarked.

Another questioned the convention: “You don’t call GOFOs leading their people … into an auditorium outside DC and not tell them why/what the topic or agenda is.”

The meeting arrives against a backdrop of ongoing upheaval at the Pentagon. Hegseth has already dismissed several top officers without explanation, and in May ordered the reduction of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20 percent.

By Vafa Guliyeva