If enacted, the changes would mark one of the most sweeping reorganisations of senior military leadership in decades, advancing Hegseth’s stated goal of dismantling entrenched structures and reducing the number of four-star officers
Senior Pentagon leaders are drafting a proposal that would significantly reshape the US military’s command structure, reducing the stature of several major headquarters and redistributing authority among senior generals as part of a consolidation effort pushed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine is expected to brief Hegseth on the plan in the coming days, according to a report by the Washington Post. The proposal aligns with broader administration efforts to redirect military focus away from West Asia and Europe and toward expanded operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Any overhaul would require approval from both Hegseth and President Donald Trump and would be implemented through the Pentagon’s Unified Command Plan, which defines the responsibilities of the military’s top commands.
What does the new plan include?
If enacted, the changes would mark one of the most sweeping reorganisations of senior military leadership in decades, advancing Hegseth’s stated goal of dismantling entrenched structures and reducing the number of four-star officers.
Under the proposal, US Central Command, US European Command, and US Africa Command would lose prominence by being placed under a newly created entity called U.S. International Command.
The plan also envisions merging the US Southern Command and the US Northern Command under a new headquarters, US Americas Command, or Americom, responsible for military operations across the Western Hemisphere.
Together, the restructuring would shrink the number of combatant commands from 11 to eight and cut the number of four-star generals and admirals reporting directly to Hegseth. The remaining commands would include the US Indo-Pacific Command, US Cyber Command, US Special Operations Command, US Space Command, US Strategic Command, and US Transportation Command.
The proposed overhaul comes as Hegseth moves ahead with a wider campaign to reduce the overall number of generals and admirals in the armed forces. He has already dismissed or pushed out more than 20 senior officers, warned others they could face polygraph tests to identify potential leaks to the media, and told those who remain that anyone who disagrees with the administration’s policies should “do the honourable thing and resign.”
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