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“President Donald Trump on Friday fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals… Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would nominate former Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to succeed Brown, breaking with tradition by pulling someone out of retirement for the first time to become the top military officer…
“The president will also replace the head of the U.S. Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, as well as the air force vice chief of staff, the Pentagon said. He is also removing the judge advocates general [JAG] for the Army, Navy and Air Force, critical positions that ensure enforcement of military justice.” Reuters
The left is critical of the firings, arguing that appointments are being made based on political loyalty rather than competence.
“In his 2024 book, Hegseth insinuated that Brown was promoted because of his race… [This is] a general who has logged more than 3,100 hours of flight time in an F-16 (including 130 combat hours) and previously served as deputy commander of Central Command, commander of Pacific Air Forces and chief of staff of the Air Force. (He was appointed to the latter post by none other than Trump.)…
“Given the distinguished records compiled by both Brown and Franchetti, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that they were let go simply because one is a racial minority and the other a woman… Those are highly corrosive signals to send, and they are likely to hamper the armed forces’ recruiting efforts and morale, given that about 18 percent of active-duty personnel are female and more than 30 percent are members of racial minorities.”
Max Boot, Washington Post
“A clear message is being sent to military leaders: Failure to demonstrate personal and political loyalty to Trump could result in retribution, even after decades of honorable service. In particular, firing the military’s most senior legal advisers is an unprecedented and explicit move to install officers who will yield to the president’s interpretation of the law…
“A commitment to provide the ‘best military advice’ exists at every level in the ranks. Commanders expect their troops to give them the facts, straight and true, because lives are on the line. But firing officers as a political litmus test poisons this military ethos. It sends an immediate signal to service members that the best military advice might have career-ending consequences.”
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Washington Post
“During Trump’s last term, Hegseth advocated for and supported the president’s pardons of two Army officials and a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Afghanistan… ‘When you’re firing the lawyers it’s because you’re getting ready to do something illegal,’ [a former senior defense adviser] said.”
Joshua Keating, Vox
“You may remember former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, from Trump’s first term. Esper has said Trump asked if the U.S. military could shoot civilians who protested George Floyd’s murder. According to Esper, Trump asked then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley, ‘Can’t you just shoot them, shoot them in the legs or something?’ Esper and Milley told the president no. Who will tell him no next time?”
Dan Rather, Steady
The right is optimistic about the firings, and urges the military to focus on winning wars rather than DEI.
The right is optimistic about the firings, and urges the military to focus on winning wars rather than DEI.
“Worries about the politicization of the military are rich after years of the civilian leadership pushing DEI on the ranks and insisting that climate change is a national security threat. Here comes Hegseth saying that the military needs to be about ‘its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars,’ and he’s the dangerous ideologue?…
“Brown is an honorable man, but he’s the one who used his position as a political soapbox. After the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Brown released a video that began, ‘As the commander of Pacific Air Forces, and a senior leader in our Air Force, and an African American, many of you may be wondering what I’m thinking about the current events surrounding the tragic death of George Floyd.’…
“In all likelihood, not very many people were wondering what an Air Force general was thinking about a hot-button political and social issue, and even if they had been, Brown should have told them it wasn’t his role to pronounce on such matters… Brown also signed on to a 2022 memo that encapsulated the attitude that Hegseth, rightly, is attempting to eradicate. It set out goals for the Air Force officer applicant pool ‘by race, ethnicity, and gender.’”
Rich Lowry, New York Post
“Friday’s firings at the Pentagon can succeed if they lead to better preparedness against China. My real concern here is the Navy… The Navy needs aircraft carriers more than ever to deter China. But two of the next carriers, CVN-80 and CVN-81, are behind schedule as they await large castings parts and more workers at shipyards. We are talking about America’s most unique and effective fighting platform for the Pacific. With the CNO slot open, President Trump needs a carrier admiral to step in.”
Rebecca Grant, Fox News
“The firing of the senior judge advocates general (military lawyers or JAGs) is the least concerning, despite the media panic that this will lead to an era of lawlessness. The JAG corps has had embarrassing prosecutorial mistakes in recent years. In rules of engagement, they now can lean too far toward risk elimination over mission success…
“Mr. Trump wants to banish identity politics from the armed forces, and we’re all for it. But the officer corps follows orders, and DEI culture can be cleaned up quickly. The main U.S. military problem is much larger: a force that is declining in weapons procurement, lethality, and operational effectiveness. On that score, let’s hope Mr. Trump’s nominees will tell him the truth, even if he doesn’t want to hear it.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
