ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has summoned the top U.S. military brass from across the globe to a meeting in Virginia next week. And that's most of what we know. We have little word on why the highly unusual meeting has been called. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman is here in the studio. Hey, Tom.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: What more can you tell us about this meeting?
BOWMAN: Well, not a lot. We're talking hundreds of generals and admirals who will meet on Tuesday at Marine Base Quantico, just south of Washington. The Washington Post was first to report on this meeting, and NPR confirmed it with a source not authorized to speak. And we later got a statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell saying, quote, "the secretary of war will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week." And he was using the term secretary of war, which both President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth prefer, instead of defense secretary.
SHAPIRO: In all the years you've covered the military, do you recall any meeting of this scale...
BOWMAN: No.
SHAPIRO: ...Like this?
BOWMAN: No, nothing like this. I've never heard of anything on this scale. At times, they'll bring in, let's say, combatant commanders - those who oversee military operations around the world - bring them to the Pentagon for annual meetings. But this is far different in the numbers. Now, Secretary Hegseth has talked about reducing the number of admirals and generals - who stand at more than 800 - reducing that number by 20%. And he talked about that during his confirmation hearing earlier this year, and also put out a video statement back in May once again referring to this. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PETE HEGSETH: We're back with more DOD reforms. This one is general and flag officer reductions. That's the official title. My title is, less generals, more GIs. It's a historic one and it's in keeping with President Trump's commitment to achieving peace through strength. We're going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our war fighters.
BOWMAN: So, again, this meeting could focus on that issue, but we really don't know.
SHAPIRO: Well, in addition to cutting back the number of admirals and generals, Secretary Hegseth has talked broadly about refashioning U.S. military culture. How has that played out so...
BOWMAN: Well...
SHAPIRO: ...Far?
BOWMAN: Right. He said he wants to return to what he calls a warrior ethos. Although those who I travel with over the years in Iraq and Afghanistan, they say, hey, listen - we've always had a warrior ethos. He has pushed for removing any diversity, equity, inclusiveness, removing those who, say, are pushing that agenda. He'll remove some 4,000 transgender troops, saying they're not compatible with military service. And he's also preparing for tougher physical fitness standards for troops.
SHAPIRO: The Pentagon is also moving to implement a new media policy. Tell us about that.
BOWMAN: Well, it says reporters must pledge not to support - report on classified or even unclassified material until something is released by the Pentagon. If you don't agree to this, you'll lose your press pass and you can't report from the Pentagon. But also, Ari, you'll be barred from any U.S. military base around the world.
Well, as you know, our job is not to be stenographers. The Pentagon has public affairs people and service members who write news stories. What we do is find out what's going on behind the scenes. What are the policies? Are they working? What weapons are you buying? Are you wasting money? Involved in illegal activity? We're basically the watchdogs of government.
SHAPIRO: How unusual is that kind of a media policy, given your years of experience covering the Pentagon?
BOWMAN: Well, there was a time we could roam around the Pentagon, maybe run into admirals and generals, get a better sense of what's going on - you know, the nuance of what's happening. I remember after Baghdad fell during the Iraq War, Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld talked about the success of Baghdad falling in his briefing.
And after that, I was walking down the hall and ran into this Army officer. I said, hey, good news, right? He said, Tom, this is not a success. Saddam Hussein's supporters are hitting our supply lines. We have to send troops back to protect them because Rumsfeld never sent enough troops. That was an important development. Ari, now I'm not allowed to walk down that hallway.
SHAPIRO: That is NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Thank you.
BOWMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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