Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Hegseth’s ultimatum to generals sparks fears of departures
The Hill ^ | 10/07/25 6:00 AM ET | Ellen Mitchell

Posted on 10/07/2025 11:57:20 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “my way or the highway” message to hundreds of generals and admirals at a summit in Virginia last week has sparked fears that some top leaders may choose to bow out of the U.S. military entirely. 

The departure of two senior leaders last week stoked those worries, though the Pentagon says they were unrelated to Hegseth’s ultimatum.

“His speech directly attacked the values of many of the senior officers and enlisted members in the audience, and I would expect many of them to demonstrate their disgust by retiring,” Don Christensen, a retired Air Force colonel and former military lawyer who watched the speech, said of Hegseth.

The two senior military leaders to leave were Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, and Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of U.S. Special Operations Command based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.

Bussiere, who was appointed by President Trump, was previously nominated to serve as the Air Force’s vice chief of staff in August, but his nomination was pulled just weeks later.

In his retirement announcement, posted to Facebook on Tuesday, he cited “personal and family reasons” as the main driver for his departure, noting he had made the “difficult” decision after much reflection.

Fenton’s retirement came after three years in the role. “FWIW, Gen. Fenton was planning on retiring, it was not tied to SecWar’s speech,” Kristina Wong, an adviser to Hegseth, wrote last week on the social platform X.

The high-profile exits came just hours after Hegseth’s speech to hundreds of top admirals and generals in Quantico, Va., in which he outlined his vision of a military void of “woke garbage,” proposing less restrictive rules of engagement and fewer waivers that allow troops to have a beard. He also declared he would curtail...

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Humor; Military/Veterans; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: ellenmitchell; fakenews; thehill; theshill

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-60 next last
To: E. Pluribus Unum

They sure do get their panties all bunched up, don’t they?


21 posted on 10/07/2025 12:23:06 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Paul R.

“Fears”

He told them to resign.


22 posted on 10/07/2025 12:26:52 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Sometimes There Is No Lesser Of Two Evils)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: ComputerGuy

>> Were those 0bama’s or Biden’s generals?

Yes.


23 posted on 10/07/2025 12:29:33 PM PDT by Nervous Tick (Hope, as a righteous product of properly aligned Faith, IS in fact a strategy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

As there is already a desire in the administration to reduce the excessive population in the higher military grades, this would seem to be the point.


24 posted on 10/07/2025 12:29:38 PM PDT by jimfree (My 22 y/o granddaughter continues to have more quality exec experience than Joe Biden.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Anti-Bubba182

Nail on the head


25 posted on 10/07/2025 12:33:38 PM PDT by maddogtiger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Retain Mike

If that speech made someone consider quitting for even a moment, I hope they ride that feeling and get out of the way.


26 posted on 10/07/2025 12:35:47 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: oldbill

“His speech directly attacked the values of many of the senior officers and enlisted members in the audience, and I would expect many of them to demonstrate their disgust by retiring,”

That’s not an expert, that’s just an opinion. This retired Air Force Colonel JAG thought Hegseth was spot on and said what a lot of us have been saying for 20 years. By the time I retired (1Jan16), there seemed to be a roughly even split among O6 and above between liberal and conservative. When I started, it was about 95% conservative. Disgusting.

Colonel, USAF JAGC (Ret)


27 posted on 10/07/2025 12:38:24 PM PDT by jagusafr ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

This happens in the private sector every single day.

New bosses come in and set the tone. If you don’t want play along, then HR will be happy assist you with your retirement papers.

Why are the people in DC so “shocked” by this? It should happen more often to these people.


28 posted on 10/07/2025 12:49:26 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

Fear of departures? Certainly not from those who would be promoted into those positions.


29 posted on 10/07/2025 12:51:12 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie

Yeah, dropping the woke garbage is easy compared to losing weight.

It will be informative to check out the retirement photos.

Methinks the fat arses who have tried and couldn’t lose weight will be the first to go.


30 posted on 10/07/2025 12:53:23 PM PDT by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Jacquerie
Oh these poor generals, so used to having their asses kissed by their loyal posses, being told to shape up or ship out. Hell, Pete should have brought in the wives that wear their husbands’ rank as if it were their own.

Does this post need a sarcasm tag? LOL

31 posted on 10/07/2025 1:00:07 PM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: oldbill

Rather and Mapes

The group that coined the phrase false but accuraate.


32 posted on 10/07/2025 1:00:50 PM PDT by Mouton (There is a new sheriff and deputy in town now!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Vermont Lt

What would you say you do here general?

I’m a people person.


33 posted on 10/07/2025 1:03:41 PM PDT by Mouton (There is a new sheriff and deputy in town now!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Mouton

I process TPS reports.


34 posted on 10/07/2025 1:06:46 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

I’m glad to hear some of the turds in the lower senior and upper mid tier ranks are bowing out. That’s what we want. There should have been a massive purge after scouring the social media posts, associations, words and actions of all military officers O5 on up to find the leftist scum.


35 posted on 10/07/2025 1:07:44 PM PDT by FLT-bird
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

Does following orders suddenly become optional when one becomes a general?


36 posted on 10/07/2025 1:08:34 PM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Paul R.
The US military is waaayyy too top heavy anyway.

Bears repeating.

37 posted on 10/07/2025 1:12:46 PM PDT by sima_yi ( Reporting live from the far North)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Paul R.

fears ... yeah, right ... fears by the hard left and their corporate propaganda media partners that their infiltration of the DoW is being hunted down and dismantled ...


38 posted on 10/07/2025 1:13:23 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum
some top leaders may choose to bow out

Dear GEN Halftrack;

Thank you for your service; however, you are not the sort of leader needed in today's WAR Department. Your resignation will be accepted at 0600 tomorrow.

-SECWAR Hegseth

39 posted on 10/07/2025 1:13:37 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pilsner

A Flag Officer who does not want to be in command when TSHTF, should not be in command when TSHTF ... or at any other time.

A Soldier|Sailor|Airman|Marine|Guardian of any rank who does not want to be in uniform when TSHTF should not be in uniform when TSHTF ... or at any other time.

It’s not a social program ... it’s the WAR Department.


40 posted on 10/07/2025 1:18:14 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-60 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson