Campaign against “woke” generals – experts concerned about US Army

Campaign against “woke” generals

Is Trump now making the US army obedient?

Donald Trump apparently wants to remove undesirable generals from the US Army. Experts are worried – especially in light of a statement made by Trump.

During the election campaign, Donald Trump made it clear what he planned to do with the Pentagon as president: there should be layoffs. “Woke” generals should go, as should those who took part in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. After the appointment of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, it is now clearer what Trump’s plans for the military could look like.

Hegseth also shares Trump’s view that the military needs to be “cleaned up.” In his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published a few months ago, Hegseth demanded: “The next president of the United States must radically transform the top leadership of the Pentagon so that we are ready to take over our country “To defend and defeat our enemies, many people have to be released.”

But who could it affect? A report by the Reuters news agency now reveals far-reaching plans. According to two different sources, Trump’s team is apparently considering firing the entire General Staff, including the leaders of the six branches of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force. That would be an unprecedented wave of layoffs.

However, it seems doubtful that Trump would really go that far and that the plan can actually be implemented. More likely, the new administration will focus on U.S. military officers linked to Mark Milley, Trump’s former chief of staff.

Milley had repeatedly criticized Trump after he was voted out and most recently called him a “fascist through and through.” Trump, in turn, called Milley a loser. Now the future president apparently wants to follow through with action. “Every single person promoted and appointed by Milley will be gone,” the anonymous Reuters source explained. There is already a very long list of people who are connected to Milley.

But the retired army general’s allies are apparently not the only ones on Trump’s crosslist. Trump’s team is apparently also planning to set up a “warrior committee,” reports the Wall Street Journal. It will consist of retired senior military officers and will review three- and four-star officers and recommend the dismissal of those deemed unsuitable for leadership. As commander in chief, Trump can theoretically simply fire the generals.

According to the draft, senior military officers should be reviewed “for leadership skills, strategic readiness and commitment to military excellence.” “It looks like the government wants to throw out everyone who isn’t a yes man,” Eric Carpenter, a professor of military law at Florida International University College of Law, told Politico.

Dismissing unwanted military personnel would be the implementation of one of Trump’s campaign promises. In October he announced that he would set up a task force to monitor the “woken generals” and abolish diversity training in the military. Just as with his ministers, Trump also demands unconditional loyalty from his military. Trump’s former head of state John Kelly recently said that Trump said in a conversation that he wanted generals as loyal as “Hitler’s generals.”

A likely victim of Trump could be the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Q. Brown Jr. He spoke publicly about the challenges of being a black man in the military when Trump called on the Defense Department to crack down on the George Floyd protests in 2020. The killing of the African American by police officers sparked massive outrage.

A person close to Trump’s transition team told Politico magazine: “Brown will be an obstacle in many ways and it’s just not worth it.” A Defense Ministry official added: “I can imagine he’ll be gone pretty quickly.”