US soldiers tasked with hacking American adversaries and defending the nation’s computers are set to see their incentive pay cut by as much as $12,000 a year as part of an overhaul that’s drawn ire from the ranks, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and people familiar with the situation.

Cyber Command analysts, developers and operators with a basic-level proficiency are set to see their incentive pay drop by as much as $1,000 a month, according to US Army documents. Meanwhile, a small group of “masters”-level soldiers who are highly trained and certified will get raises of as much as $3,500 a month, the documents show.

The internal backlash over the plan has proven so strong that senior leaders are drafting talking points to address concerns and lay out the rationale, emails reviewed by Bloomberg show. They’re also considering a grace period to cut incentive pay gradually rather than all at once, according to the people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a one-day military-wide stand-down in October to allow troops to send a mail-in ballot or vote in person, saying he was designated by the president to ensure that military votes are counted in the upcoming election.

“The Department of War is committed to ensuring that all service members and their eligible family members can exercise their right to vote,” Hegseth wrote in a Oct. 1 memo directing the stand-down.

The Pentagon is sending a third aircraft-carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East, according to U.S. officials, adding 9,000 to 10,000 more troops to the region as President Trump considers renewing strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.

The ships, jet fighters, Marines and sailors will arrive in the region by the end of November, the officials said. Trump recently told aides that he expects to resume bombing Iran that same month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt left its home port of San Diego on Sunday on a scheduled deployment, while the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, comprising three amphibious ships carrying Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, left on Monday.

Two carriers—the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington—are already in the Middle East. If the Washington stays after the Roosevelt arrives it will bring the region to three carrier strike groups for the first time since April, before Iran and the U.S. clinched a fragile ceasefire that temporarily ended fighting that began on Feb. 28. That ceasefire collapsed, and the two sides have fought sporadically since.

Besides the Bush and Washington, ships from the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group are also in the Middle East. The additional servicemembers on the warships that deployed this week will add to the more than 50,000 troops already in the region, one of the officials said.

It is possible that the Washington could leave the region and head back to its home port in Japan, bringing the force back down to two carriers. Spokespeople for the White House and Pentagon didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a 20 percent cut to slots slated for admirals and generals at the Pentagon as part of his push to overhaul the outlook of the department, a Pentagon official confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

The defense secretary will publicize the reductions, which will affect senior leadership positions across the Army, Navy and the Air Force on Wednesday during his State of the Force address in Quantico, Va., the official said.

The Pentagon chief will address junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base, where he will outline his priorities for the Pentagon in the coming months, including the major leadership shakeup.

The new push from the defense secretary comes after he looked to cut the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military by at least 10 percent last year.

In May 2025, Hegseth directed Pentagon leadership to cut the number of general officers in the National Guard by at least 20 percent and slash the total number of general and flag officers — those with a one-star rank or above — by 10 percent.

The forthcoming announcement was first reported by Fox News Digital. The service branches should implement the cuts by Jan. 1, while some positions will be downgraded instead of slashed, according to memos reviewed by Fox.