At least three high-profile four-star Air Force commands could be downgraded to three-star roles, as the Pentagon presses to shrink the number of generals throughout the Department of Defense, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Two of those jobs—U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa and Air Force Materiel Command—are currently vacant following the recent retirements of Gen. James B. Hecker and Gen. Duke Z. Richardson. The Pentagon has yet to announce any nominees to replace them.
The third, Air Mobility Command, is led by Gen. John D. Lamontagne, who took over in September 2024 as a newly promoted four-star general in what is traditionally a three-year assignment.
Back in early May, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star general and flag officers. No final decisions have been made on which jobs might be downgraded and the matter remains under review, according to people familiar with the department’s deliberations. But the focus has been on the AMC, AFMC, and USAFE jobs among the Air Force’s typical four-star positions.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense told Air & Space Forces Magazine the military is still evaluating how to implement the policy. “We do not have anything new to announce at this time,” the Pentagon spokesperson added. An Air Force spokesperson offered a nearly identical answer.
The retirements of Hecker at USAFE and Richardson at AFMC present opportunities to make the change while the leadership positions are vacant. Their three-star deputies are the current acting commanders.
“The Department of Defense is still assessing and we do not have anything new to provide at this time,” the Air Force spokesperson said.
Each of the military services are allowed by law to have a certain number of four-star officers—combined, there are currently 27 authorized. That’s in addition to joint positions that are four-star jobs by statue, such as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Chief and Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau; and the heads of the military’s 11 combatant commands.
All told, the Pentagon employs more than 40 four-star generals and admirals.
The Air Force has the most four-star billets, at nine. In addition to the Chief of Staff and Vice Chief jobs, the heads of six major commands have been four-stars in recent years:
- USAFE-AFA
- AMC
- AFMC
- Air Combat Command
- Pacific Air Forces
- Air Force Global Strike Command
ACC’s commander, Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, is retiring, and his successor, Lt. Gen. Adrian L. Spain, has already been confirmed by the Senate to receive a fourth star and take command at an Aug. 11 ceremony. Similarly, Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Davis, the Department of the Air Force’s Inspector General, has been nominated for a fourth star to succeed Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, who has been nominated to become Air Force Vice Chief of Staff.
Hegseth’s memo identified “realignment of the Unified Command Plan” as one way to reduce the number of top officers. He has reportedly considered combining or eliminating some of DOD’s 11 combatant commands, such as folding U.S. Africa Command back into European Command, or combining U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Southern Command into a single organization. But the Pentagon has not confirmed any changes and none appear to be imminent.
“[W]e must cultivate exceptional senior leaders who drive innovation and operational excellence, unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers that hinder their growth and effectiveness,” Hegseth wrote. “A critical step in this process is removing redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.”
Ultimately, Hegseth stated that he wants to decrease the number of one-, two-, three-, and four-star generals and admirals by 10 percent.
“Now this is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers,” Hegseth said in a video released at the same time as his memo. “This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.”
Hegseth said the cuts would take place in two stages. “Phase one, we’re looking at our current service structure, and in phase two, it’s a strategic review of the Unified Command Plan,” he said.
The only consolidation announced so far is from the Army, which said it will merge its Futures Command and Training and Doctrine Command under a single four-star general later this year.
How these moves impact international relationships will be one key to watch. In Europe, the new U.S. European Command boss is Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, who has a dual-hatted role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Here, the decision on what to do about USAFE-AFA has an implicit impact on NATO, because its commander is traditionally also the head of NATO Allied Air Command. Likewise, the Army’s top general in Europe, Gen. Chris Donahue, leads NATO’s Allied Land Command. Downgrading the USAFE-AFA commander to three stars could effectively demote the U.S. commander below their NATO counterparts.
By contrast, Air Mobility Command, which oversees the Air Force’s cargo and tanker fleet, is a four-star command largely to align it with ACC and other Air Force commands. AMC is the Air Force component command supporting U.S. Transportation Command, one of DOD’s 11 unified commands, but its Navy and Army counterparts, Military Sealift Command and Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, are less senior roles that report to higher-ranking officers within those services.
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s ranking Democrat, Jack Reed (R.I.), and others have raised concern over Hegseth’s push to trim the general officer ranks. They have argued for a voice in such significant changes, especially those defined in law and that carry international responsibilities.