WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned the military’s top officers — hundreds of generals and admirals — to a base in northern Virginia for a sudden meeting next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The directive did not offer a reason for the gathering next Tuesday of senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers at the Marine Corps base in Quantico. The people, who described the move as unusual, were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive plans and spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump didn’t seem to know about the meeting when he was asked about it by reporters during an Oval Office appearance later Thursday.

“I’ll be there if they want me, but why is that such a big deal?” Trump said.