The defense secretary fired three generals on one day in the middle of a war, revealing his true priorities.
Jay Kuo at The Status Kuo:
“Here is a four-star general who is actively working to get equipment and people into theater — to protect U.S. forces — and you fire him? In the middle of a war?” That was an unnamed U.S. defense official reacting to the news that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had just fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. A second official, also speaking anonymously, was even more succinct: “It’s insane.” George, the Army’s highest-ranking uniformed officer and a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan, was informed by phone during a meeting that he had been fired. He had been confirmed by the Senate 96 to 1, and still had more than a year left in his term. No reason was given. On that same day, Hegseth also fired Gen. David Hodne, who commanded the Army’s new battlefield modernization unit, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the Army’s chief of chaplains. Three generals. One day. Zero explanations. With a war raging, the U.S. public is entitled to understand what drove this decision, particularly whether Hegseth is prioritizing politics over mission.
So what actually happened?
Following Gen. George’s firing, the Pentagon offered little beyond platitudes for his “decades of service.” But reporting from the New York Times, NBC News and CNN has helped fill in the picture. Weeks before his firing, Hegseth had moved to block four Army officers from a promotion list of roughly 29 candidates selected to advance to brigadier general. The four officers Hegseth singled out for removal were—surprise, surprise—two Black men and two women. Nearly everyone else on the list was a white man.
Gen. George pushed back on the move to block these racial minorities and women from advancement. He and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll—a Trump appointee, not a Biden holdover—refused to go along, citing the officers’ exemplary service records. The general then did what any reasonable person would do: request a meeting to discuss Hegseth’s refusal to promote these four officers. Hegseth declined to meet. Two weeks later, George was out. Beyond the controversy over the promotions, other factors may have been at work. Axios reported that the dismissal was also driven by “clashing personalities,” and NBC and the Times both noted Hegseth’s troubled relationship with Driscoll, with whom Gen. George was closely allied. CNN pointed out Gen. George’s prior service as a military aide to Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, a role that Hegseth and his circle reportedly held against him. Not one of these explanations has anything to do with George’s competence or fitness for his position, which has never been questioned. They appear tied instead to his perceived loyalties and willingness to stand up for racial minorities and women in the military.
Hegseth’s blocking of these qualified women and Black men was not an isolated incident. Nine U.S. officials confirmed that he had blocked or delayed promotions for more than a dozen Black and female officers across all four military branches. Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Ricky Buria, objected to the appointment of Maj. Gen. Antoinette Gant to lead the Military District of Washington on the remarkable grounds that Trump wouldn’t want to be seen publicly with a Black woman officer at events.
Pete Hegseth’s time as DoD Secretary has been nothing but destructive to military readiness.
