Military's 4-Star Officers to Be Reduced by 20% or More Under New Order by Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to cut the number of their highest-ranking officers — four-star generals and admirals — by at least 20%. In a memo released Monday, Hegseth argued that senior leaders should be “unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers that hinder their growth and effectiveness” and “a critical step in this […]
'People Are Very Scared': Trump Administration Purge of JAG Officers Raises Legal, Ethical Fears
Current military lawyers and legal experts told Military.com the administration’s firings of the Air Force, Army and Navy’s top judge advocates general politicizes and sets an alarming precedent for a crucial job in the military, all as President Donald Trump has mused about using the military in unorthodox and potentially illegal ways. Trump and Defense […]
More than Half of Senior Army Officers Are Turning Down Command Consideration
More than half of the Army’s senior officers are turning down opportunities to command, choosing instead the stability of staff roles over the high-stakes demands of leadership, or retiring, according to internal service data. The Battalion Command Assessment Program, or BCAP, a cornerstone of the Army’s effort to evaluate leadership readiness, assesses 800 to 1,000 […]
Army Cuts Popular Education Benefit in Half, Bars Officers as Costs Soar
The Army is dramatically scaling back one of its most generous education benefits, the Credentialing Assistance program known as Army CA, in a bid to rein in costs that could be one of the most consequential shifts in soldiers’ benefits in years. Introduced force-wide in 2020, Army CA was hailed as a groundbreaking complement to […]
The Army Needs Hundreds of Officers to Leave Combat Arms
The Army is seeking 300 lieutenants from oversaturated combat arms fields to voluntarily transfer into understaffed roles. Lieutenants currently branched in armor, infantry, combat engineer and field artillery can apply between Jan. 7 and Feb. 17 to transfer to adjutant general, air defense, finance, logistics and signal corps, the service announced in November. Additionally, the […]
ROTC Scholarships Could Be Slashed This Decade as Army Deals with Glut of Officers
The Army is eyeing a roughly $100 million cut to Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarships through the rest of the decade as the service aims to correct an oversaturation of officers in the force. Between 2026 and 2029, Army planners are looking to slash the ROTC program’s annual $315 million budget by $25 million or […]
Army Eliminates Online Training Requirement for Noncommissioned Officers, Saying It's Too Burdensome
The Army has eliminated a significant part of its online training for enlisted troops — a learning program that has drawn the ire of the rank and file for years — and in effect revamped how it handles enlisted promotions. Effective immediately, the Distributed Leader Course, or DLC, is discontinued and will no longer be […]
Temporary Promotions for Army Noncommissioned Officers to End in June
The Army said Thursday it is suspending its controversial program that promotes noncommissioned officers before they attend an academy. The service will suspend the temporary promotions starting in June in one of the most significant changes to its promotion system in recent years, it said in an announcement. The Army will also realign required noncommissioned […]
Sex Offenses for 3 Senior Army Officers End with Plea Deals and Reprimands
Three senior Army officers who faced charges related to sexual offenses in separate and unrelated cases all received reprimands through plea deals within the past two months. The officers were all lieutenant colonels. One hid cameras in changing rooms used by teen girls; another allegedly had sex with a trainee and tried to move on […]
First Wave of Army Noncommissioned Officers Gets Automatic Promotions for Completing Recruiting School
Dozens of noncommissioned officers received fast-track promotions for graduating the Army’s recruiting school in recent weeks — part of a controversial move by the service as it desperately grapples with a depleting pool of NCOs interested in serving in the role. Of the 145 soldiers who attended the Army Recruiter Course, 56 NCOs were automatically […]