When Gen. Mark Milley retired in 2023 after more than four decades of military service to the United States, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff delivered a retirement speech that included some language that did not go unnoticed.

“We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator — or wannabe dictator,” the retiring general said.

Milley didn’t mention Donald Trump (the president who appointed him) by name, but he didn’t have to. Given the context and the scope of his disagreements with the Republican, there was no great mystery about the general’s unsubtle subtext.

Almost three years later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, presumably with the president’s blessing, fired the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, the highly decorated general and combat veteran who’d served as the Army’s top officer since 2023. It was a jarring and controversial move — removing the head of the Army without cause during a war is ridiculous — though it was also part of an aggressive purge campaign launched by the former Fox News host who currently leads the Pentagon.

For his part, George, at the culmination of a four-decade career in uniform, sent a goodbye email to colleagues, which was obtained by MS NOW. It read in part:

I know you’ll all continue to stay laser-focused on the mission, continue innovating, and relentlessly cut through the bureaucracy to get our warfighters what they need to win on the modern battlefield.

Our soldiers are truly the best in the world — they deserve tough training and courageous leaders of character. I have no doubt you all will continue to lead with courage, character, and grit.

To be sure, George didn’t explicitly say that U.S. troops currently lack “courageous leaders of character,” but given the larger context, his message raised eyebrows for all of the obvious reasons.

As for the general’s replacement, the job quickly went to Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Hegseth’s former military assistant. The Washington Post’s Max Boot reported that there are already questions surrounding LaNeve’s qualifications, and CNN reported on the way LaNeve managed to get on the White House’s good side: He contacted Trump just hours after his inauguration, calling in to the Commander in Chief’s Ball with his troops from South Korea.

“Sir, on behalf of the brave men and women who serve under my command and the thousands of dedicated service members that are part of the joint team in Korea, congratulations on your victory as the 47th president of the United States,” LaNeve said on a video call. “Welcome back, Mr. President.”

Trump quickly praised LaNeve, saying, “Is this man central casting or what?”

The post Ousted Army chief of staff: Troops deserve ‘courageous leaders of character’ appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.