Posted on 11/14/2024 3:07:08 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
Members of US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team are drawing up a list of military officers to be fired, potentially including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources said, in what would be an unprecedented shakeup at the Pentagon.
The planning for the firings is at an early stage after the former US president’s November 5 election victory and could change as Trump’s administration takes shape, said the sources, who are familiar with the Trump transition and requested anonymity to speak candidly about the plans.
One of the sources questioned the feasibility of a mass firing at the Pentagon.
It was also unclear if Trump himself would endorse the plan, although in the past he has railed extensively against defense leaders who have criticized him. Trump has also spoken during the campaign of firing “woke” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The second source said the incoming administration would likely focus on US military officers seen as connected to Mark Milley, Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Milley was quoted in the book “War” by Bob Woodward, which was published last month, calling the president-elect “fascist to the core,” and Trump’s allies have targeted him for perceived disloyalty.
“Every single person that was elevated and appointed by Milley will be gone,” the second source said. “There’s a very detailed list of everybody that was affiliated with Milley. And they will all be gone.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff include the highest-ranking officers in the US military and comprise the heads of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force.
The disclosure of plans to fire senior leaders of the US armed forces came a day after Trump picked as his defense secretary Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and Army veteran who has signaled a willingness to clean house at the Pentagon.
“The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired,” Hegseth said in his 2024 book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
Then-US president Donald Trump appears on Fox & Friends with co-host Pete Hegseth during a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event at the White House in Washington, April 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
It is unclear if Hegseth’s lack of management experience could complicate his Senate confirmation, and if a more traditional alternative for the position would carry out such sweeping dismissals.
General Brown to be among the first fired
Hegseth has also taken aim at Milley’s successor, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.
“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote.
The first source familiar with the transition planning said Brown would be among the many officers to leave.
“The chiefs of the Joint Chiefs and all the vice chiefs will be fired immediately,” the source said, noting that this was still early planning.
Some current and former US officials have played down the possibility of such a major shakeup, saying it would be unnecessary and disruptive at a time of global turmoil with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The first source said that it would be difficult bureaucratically to fire and replace a large swath of senior US military officials, suggesting the planning could be bluster and posturing by Trump allies.
But the second source suggested the Trump camp believed the Joint Chiefs of Staff needed to shrink due to perceived bureaucratic overreach.
Such cuts could be endured in an organization the scale of the US military, the source said.
“These people are not irreplaceable. They are very replaceable. And then the other thing too is there is no shortage of people that will step up,” the source said.
“In World War II, we were very rapidly appointing people in their 30s or people competent to be generals. And you know what? We won the war.”
Elections have consequences.
GOOD!
All traitors must go.
Hegseth has also taken aim at Milley’s successor, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.
“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote.
A better plan might be to get one...or a couple...respected former generals/admirals and ask their opinions on which top officers are more focused on winning wars than on politics...DEI...etc.
Just leave it to the new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. I’m confident he can clean the table.
Simple solution. Make it a triangle.
“unprecedented shakeup at the Pentagon”
Since Obama, anyways.
That’s very compassionate of him. What they did is completely against the UCMG and they could be court martialed for it. It’s nice of him just to dismiss them.
If they publicly said anything negatively about Trump, they should be gone.
Same if they insulted Biden publicly while serving.
That has always been grounds for dismissal.
Lovin’ this.....
“CJCS Charlie Brown” is a clown, and an AA stooge.
He proclaimed that 43% of the officer corps would be minorities,
(DEI) just like him.
No mention of merit, just quotas.
What a knob...
Good.
What a ridiculously slanted headline. That’s the angle most of the media are taking now. He is looking to fire people because they “criticized him”, or because he “doesn’t like them.” They never mention the real, entirely justified reasons.
Contempt toward officials under Article 88 of the UCMJ takes place when a commissioned officer of the United States Armed Forces uses contemptuous words against officials of any branch of the U.S. government or any state government.
These jackwagons were fully aware of this and they did it anyway. Charge them and court martial the bastards.
Then fire them for good measure.
Obama terminated 197 General Officers for the same reason. The Alt Left Dinosaur media said not a word.
I believe the military would be a lot more efficient if they got rid of 50% of the Flag officers. They build empires taking personnel and funding from warfighters for useless crap (e.g., DEI).
Pete will lock some heels.
They need to be forced out.
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