Next top general gone: The US Secretary of War is waging war against his own military

The maneuver should actually have had consequences for the pilots; They were officially on a training mission. The US military launched an internal investigation after the incident and temporarily suspended the pilots – until Pete Hegseth switched on and quickly turned off the process. “Carry on, patriots,” wrote the US Secretary of Defense on the X platform.

Outrage over interference

The fact that the Pentagon chief is so blatantly interfering in the military chain of command is causing outrage in the USA. It was another indication of Hegseth’s “contempt for the legal framework in the military,” they criticized New York Times.

But the next big bang didn’t take long to arrive: On Thursday, Hegseth, who calls himself “Minister of War,” fired the chief of staff of the US Army, General Randy George. In the midst of the war with Iran – while reports of a possible US ground deployment are increasing – this is an unprecedented step.

Campaign against military

George is the latest victim of Hegseth’s campaign against his own army. The Pentagon did not provide a reason for the dismissal. According to reports, the general was under the Democrat Joe Biden was nominated and would have remained in office until 2027, but has been on the hit list for a long time – although he was definitely committed to implementing key Trump/Hegseth projects.

Ultimately, the decisive factor for his expulsion was probably a conflict over personnel issues that became known at the end of March. Hegseth is said to have opposed the promotion of four officers to one-star generals. This caused a stir because there were two female and two black officers. The former one Fox-News-Moderator should be George (and also Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll) literally pushed for their names to be removed from the (predominantly white, male) promotion list. George resisted – and pleaded loudly NOW about a personal conversation, which did not take place. The general found out about the end of his career by phone on Thursday.

The case fits the picture: Since taking office, Hegseth has already removed more than a dozen high-ranking military officials from their positions. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military advisory body, has now been almost completely replaced.

The Pentagon never gave a specific reason. All that is known is that Hegseth accuses the military leadership of a lack of loyalty to President Trump. He is also an outspoken opponent of equality programs, which he underlined in September when he gathered hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world in Virginia to bring them ideologically into line. His dismissals strikingly affected women and members of minorities.