Retired Air Force Brigadier General John Teichert is warning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his removal of senior military officers and push for cultural change at the Pentagon have become a distraction that could weaken the U.S. military.

Teichert, who previously led Joint Base Andrews, the Maryland installation best known as the home of Air Force One, and Edwards Air Force Base, the California hub of the Air Force's flight-test mission, laid out his concerns in an opinion article for the Washington Post published Thursday. Although he had previously criticized the military policies of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, he now argues that Hegseth has swung too far in the opposite direction.

"Secretary Hegseth's actions have taken ideological cleansing to the next level," Teichert wrote. He added that the atmosphere inside the Pentagon is now "rife with groupthink" and argued that officers may increasingly view silence as safer for their careers than challenging senior leaders.

His warning followed Hegseth's latest shake-up of the military's highest ranks. Speaking at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Wednesday, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would cut the number of generals and admirals by 20 percent, framing the reductions as a way to trim bureaucracy and improve accountability. General and flag officers occupy the top of the U.S. military's chain of command, leading combatant commands, service headquarters, and major installations, so changes at that level shape how the department organizes, staffs, and directs its forces.

Hegseth said the department has already removed roughly 10 percent of its generals and admirals and has also reduced the number of general officer positions by 10 percent. "The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability," he said.

According to the Associated Press, Hegseth has focused on eliminating what he calls "woke" culture at the Pentagon. Those efforts include reversing diversity initiatives, reviewing ground combat units that include female troops, and launching a screening program for testosterone deficiency among male service members.

Teichert said he agrees with some of Hegseth's criticisms of previous Pentagon priorities, including the view that the military lost focus under Democratic administrations, and he strongly criticized the Biden administration's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the same time, he argued that Hegseth is creating a new problem by prioritizing ideological loyalty and the image of the physical warrior over other qualities essential to military readiness.

Experienced officers, he said, are being displaced at a moment when the military needs leaders who can think for themselves and challenge established ideas. He cited a leadership principle from former Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell, who cautioned against senior officials surrounding themselves with people who will not disagree.

Teichert also rejected the notion that physical toughness alone determines military readiness, saying effective commanders must also be creative, disciplined, experienced, and capable of making tough decisions.

The warning comes as Hegseth carries out a major reshuffle of the Pentagon's leadership. The latest cutbacks are expected to bring further changes to the military's senior ranks, even as U.S. operations continue overseas. Which specific commands and positions are consolidated or eliminated as the 20 percent reduction is carried out, and whether other current and former officers publicly echo or dispute Teichert's concerns, will be among the clearest markers of how far the restructuring reaches.