The gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, has fueled intense speculation about the purpose and value of summoning such a large number of generals and admirals to one place, with many stationed in more than a dozen countries that include conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new. But experts say the scale of the gathering, the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it are particularly unusual.
“The notion that the secretary is going to talk to the generals and give them his vision for running the department — and maybe also for strategy and organization — that’s perfectly reasonable,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel.
“What's mystifying is why it's on such short notice, why it's in person and what else might be involved,” he said.
Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, said he expects the meeting to center on the Trump administration’s shift in defense policy. The U.S. military is expected to focus less on Europe and Asia and more on the Northern Hemisphere, a change that breaks with decades of precedent, he said.
