Overview

• The Tuesday event was ordered on short notice by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, requiring brigadier-general–level officers and above to travel from posts worldwide.
• A Pentagon planning notice said the president’s addition would significantly change the security posture, placing the Secret Service in charge of the venue at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
• Hegseth is expected to address military standards and a “warrior ethos,” though the broader agenda remains publicly unclear.
• Lawmakers and experts have questioned the cost, operational risk of concentrating senior leadership in one place, and the timing just before a potential federal funding lapse.
• The meeting follows Hegseth’s rapid reshaping of the Pentagon, including firing multiple senior officers and proposing a roughly 20% cut to four-star and general/flag billets, while Trump describes his remarks as a pep talk.