I know commanders have been relieved since the founding, but Obama seems to rejoice in firing 4 star generals. He knows more they do about the military so they have to go. It’s a all game with him, mission effectiveness be damned.
A couple of months after Clinton was elected in 1993 a wing commander or it might have been a base commander was giving a commencement speech at an AF NCO Academy graduation and said he never thought he would live to see the day that a man was elected president who dodged the draft and protested against his own country overseas. He told the absolute truth but of course was fired the next day and made to put in his papers.
I had just retired from the Air Force and that was the big news for a couple of weeks. I’m glad I was retired when Clinton was elected. Without a doubt my mouth would have gotten me in a lot of trouble. I despised him then and I despise him now.
Around the same time an officer assigned to SHAPE Belgium had made an alcohol fueled comment...
“We have a draft dodging, gay loving, pot smoking, skirt chasing commander in chief.”
This was at an official event in a joint/combined environment. His statement was true but it wasn’t the best venue.