BY SKYLER OBISPO
Journal Staff
In a May 5 memo, U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter B. Hegseth called for the reduction of generals and flag officers of the U.S. military by as much as 20%.
The directive calls for a minimum 20% reduction of 4-star positions across the active duty and general officers in the National Guard.
Federal law 32 U.S. Code Section 314 mandates that there shall be an adjutant general in each state and territory according to Mark Scott, spokesperson for the Guam National Guard. The Guard’s only general officer, Brig. Gen. Michael W. Cruz, serves as the island's adjutant general.
Scott said the Guam Guard does not foresee any changes to the Cruz’s position, its current operations, or force readiness.
Hegseth said in the memo that the reduction is needed to ensure the effectiveness of the U.S. armed forces.
“... we must must cultivate exceptional senior leaders who drive innovation and operational excellence, unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers that hinder their growth and effectiveness,” he said.
Hegseth said a key step towards improving the efficiency of the military is by “removing redundant force structures.”
The 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base said it is too early to know how the impacts of the planned reduction will impact operations.
The reduction would also reduce general and flag officers by an additional 10% “with the realignment of the Unified Command Plan.”
The Unified Command Plan is a classified executive branch document that is prepared by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that outlines training, planning, operational responsibilities, and geographic responsibilities for the U.S. military’s Combatant Commands which is reviewed and updated every two years
There are currently 11 unified COCOMS:
- CENTCOM: U.S. Central Command;
- AFRICOM: U.S. Africa Command;
- EUCOM: U.S. European Command;
- NORTHCOM: U.S. Northern Command;
- INDOPACOM: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (of which Joint Task Force-Micronesia is a part);
- SOUTHCOM: U.S. Southern Command;
- SPACECOM: U.S. Space Command;
- SOCOM: U.S. Special Operations Command;
- TRANSCOM: U.S. Transportation Command;
- STRATCOM: U.S. Strategic Command; and
- CYBERCOM: U.S. Cyber Command.