Retired major general: Hegseth ‘playing Russian roulette’ with US security

Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner blasted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his latest cuts to the military’s senior ranks, accusing the Pentagon chief of “playing Russian roulette” with U.S. national security.

“This is just unbelievable,” Manner said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN’s “The Lead.”

Hegseth announced plans to cut 20 percent of positions reserved for generals and admirals across the Army, Navy and Air Force — doubling an earlier 10 percent reduction.

Manner said that while he supports reducing the number of senior officers, he argued Hegseth’s approach was done recklessly amid a war with Iran and would cost the military experienced leaders.

“The concept of reducing the number of admirals and generals is a good one,” Manner said. “The problem is that the secretary of Defense has already proven that he’s trying to purge the military.”

Hegseth defended the shake-up during an address to troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Wednesday, where he touted the removal of military leaders he said had embraced a “woke” culture at the Pentagon.

“The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue,” Hegseth said. “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in.”

Manner argued that any major restructuring of the military should instead be carried out carefully to avoid weakening its ability to operate.

“A thoughtful restructuring would be very smart,” Manner said. “He’s not doing that. He, literally, is purging people who don’t agree with him.”

“This incompetent secretary of Defense is actually dealing not with the profitability of a corporation but is instead playing Russian roulette with the security of the United States,” he added. “This is extremely dangerous.”