The Trump transition team is considering an executive order that would send into retirement any three- or four-star general deemed “lacking in requisite leadership qualities.” If fairly applied, that standard would force a super-majority of the 44 four-star and 162 three-star officers off active duty.
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As commander in chief, Trump can fire any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he intends to purge a number of generals and admirals.
The draft order says it aims to establish a review that focuses “on leadership capability, strategic readiness, and commitment to military excellence.” The draft doesn’t specify what officers need to do or present to show if they meet those standards. The draft order originated with one of several outside policy groups collaborating with the transition team, and is one of numerous executive orders under review by Trump’s team, a transition official said.
The warrior board would be made up of retired generals and noncommissioned officers, who would send their recommendations to the president. Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.
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BACKGROUND:
The upper echelons of the US military are broken. There is no visible interest in readiness or warfighting. The focus is on whatever social justice idea that is coming down the pike. This rot has spread deep into the rank and file where sexual proclivities and other non-essential traits determine if a successful career is possible (see Unexpectedly, the USAF Finds Itself With a Critical Shortage of Pilots While It Says It Has Too Many White Officers). Stories abound of officers and noncommissioned officers being afraid to discipline women or sexual minorities for fear of being reported to the Star Chamber for some career-ending offense. In the aftermath of the USS Bonhomme Richard burning down, there were tales of US Navy petty officers buffing floors while sailors lounged about because they feared being accused of harassment. And who can forget the active network of “pup” fetishists operating rather openly in the Army? See Army Starts Sham Investigation Into Bondage Fetish Colonel and His Friends Because They Think You’re Stupid for details.
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But some former officials believe the potential Trump administration is looking to politicize the military.
“Do they start wearing MAGA hats in formation to signal who’s where?” asked one former senior Pentagon official. “The potential for this to go wrong is infinite.”
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U.S. troops take an oath of office to the constitution and vow to not follow any illegal order, and Congress must approve the promotion of general officers.
But establishing a board separate from the current process, which uses serving officers, could undermine the idea that generals refrain from sharing their political views within the Pentagon. It could also potentially prompt officers not to speak out against orders they believe are illegal, says Eric Carpenter, professor of military law at FIU College of Law.
“This looks like an administration getting ready to purge anyone who will not be a yes man,” said Carpenter, a former Army lawyer. “If you are looking to fire officers who might say no because of the law or their ethics, you set up a system with completely arbitrary standards, so you can fire anyone you want.”
Unlike civil servants, military officers hold commissions from the President in his role as commander-in-chief. Though the services all have regulations about officer management, the President has nearly unfettered authority to remove and promote commissioned officers. The bleating about a widespread purge constituting “politicization,” giving the general officer/flag officer corps a mass casualty event would go a long way toward turning the military from a training ground for leftist cadres and a nascent whiney special interest group back into a fighting force feared by our enemies. Even if it was a political purge, there is historical precedent.
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Like any other great idea, it isn’t without high risk. The justness of this retention board’s actions will rest on the credibility of its members. It will be difficult to get retired four-star officers to sit on a panel that orders the involuntary retirement of former colleagues. Even if it is not perceived as fair, we’re no worse off than today, and a strong message has been sent about the purpose of the Armed Forces.
