Source: The Strait Report
U.S. Defense Secretary Hughes issued an extremely unusual order requiring hundreds of U.S. military generals and naval generals to gather in a short time to a Naval Corps base in Virginia without giving any reason.
On September 25th, local time, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed in a statement that the meeting of generals would be held next Tuesday, but did not disclose the reason.
The order came so suddenly and mysteriously that even the generals at the highest ranks of the US military felt "confused and alert." Four U.S. officials revealed that the directive and its undisclosed reasons "aroused anxiety and worry" in the middle and middle ranks of the military.
Another U.S. official revealed that numerous senior officers were contacting each other to try to figure out why Hegel ordered such a “unprecedented rally” that “everyone was thinking about.”
Unprecedented scale, global mobilization, and unclear reasons
According to several informed sources, the order was issued to almost all senior U.S. military commanders around the world, and the mass rally could involve up to 800 generals.
According to data from June 2025, there are only 838 active generals in the US military. The instruction means that the top commanders, including those deployed in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, and even in active conflict zones, are called. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an American think tank, commented that the scale of the reported rally was "unprecedented".
The order requires that "all general officers at the O-7 (brigadier general) to O-10 (general) ranks in command positions and their senior non-commissioned officer advisers" must attend the meeting. In practice, each commander usually brings several assistants with him. According to this calculation, the total number of people going to the Marine Corps base in Virginia may easily exceed 1,000.
Many people familiar with the matter said that they couldn't recall any defense secretary in American history who ordered so many generals to gather like this.
This massive gathering of U.S. military leadership has raised serious security concerns in the U.S. Interior, Canxian said, “The security work at the base will be a nightmare because such a massive gathering of military leadership will be the target of terrorists and protesters.”
A U.S. official said that ordering hundreds of military leaders to appear in the same place "is not a conventional practice," adding that "you can't bring generals who are leading forces and global powers together in a hall outside Washington without telling them the reason, agenda or agenda."
Trump and Wants.
When reporters were asked about the matter at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared initially unfamiliar with the plans of Hertz.The report said that Trump seemed to think the defense minister was inviting foreign officers to meet.
Speaking to reporters, Trump replied: “I think it’s great to have him be friendly with generals and naval generals around the world.
At this point, U.S. Vice President Vance hastened to interrupt and clarify that the summit was for U.S. generals and tried to downplay the importance of the event. Vance said: "It's not particularly unusual for generals who report to the Secretary of War, and then to the President of the United States, to come and talk to the Secretary of War. I find it strange that you media have made this so big."
Earlier, Hegseth issued a high-profile order to rename the U.S. "Department of Defense" as the U.S. "Department of War" and prepared to launch a new national defense strategy, which is said to give priority to "homeland security" and "Western Hemisphere defense". Put it first. On September 5th, local time, Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, allowing the "Ministry of National Defense" to use the title of "Department of War" on official occasions.
Emerging anxiety and speculation, analysis: may have 3 purposes
The mysterious rally caused tremendous shock in the U.S. military, linked to a series of iron arms operations in the Pentagon since Hertz took office.He has previously fired dozens of military leaders and ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star generals and a 10% reduction in the total number of all generals.
In this context, various speculations emerged. Canadian analytics believed that because of the general officers attending the meeting they were carrying their respective senior officers. He speculated that the meeting could have three purposes:
First, he might want to present his new defense strategy to the commanders; second, he might want to announce the integration of major institutions, such as the merger of the European and African Command; third, it might be a “moral-inspired” congress, where he would send a clear message to all: “Either obey, or depart.”
At the time of the announcement, a Pentagon spokesman only confirmed in a statement that Hertz "will speak to its senior military leaders at the beginning of next week" but declined to provide any other details. From the corridors of the Pentagon to the Hill of Congress, everyone was buried in drums.
Source: Red Star News, Global Times