Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s relentlessly aggressive personnel purge has generated bipartisan condemnations, but arguably the most indefensible move came in April, when the former Fox News host fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, removing the Army’s top officer amid an ongoing war.
It was never altogether clear why, exactly, the Pentagon chief ousted the general, but nearly six months later, an apparent answer is coming into focus. The Washington Post reported:
Days before the Army’s top officer was abruptly fired earlier this year, he was advised by a fellow general now vying to replace him to stop the military’s investigation into an unauthorized helicopter flyby of musician Kid Rock’s Tennessee estate, three people familiar with the matter said.
Gen. Randy George, whom Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed as the Army chief of staff without explanation, felt it was important to follow typical protocol and determine whether any safety regulations had been violated during the March 28 flyby, these people said.
The Post’s report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that Gen. Chris LaNeve, the Army’s No. 2 officer, told George that Hegseth wanted a halt to the investigation.
It was five months ago that an entertainer named Kid Rock, who had a Top 10 hit nearly a quarter century ago, shared videos via social media of Apache helicopters doing a flyby at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. The clips showed the entertainer, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, saluting and applauding the troops.
The unfortunate stunt obviously wasn’t an appropriate use of military resources, and the Army quickly did what everyone expected: It suspended the crew members and temporarily barred them from flight duties pending a review of the incident.
Even Donald Trump conceded that the helicopter pilots “probably shouldn’t have been doing it” since “you’re not supposed to be playing games.”
Hegseth, however, came to a very different conclusion about the value of playing games, reversed the crew members’ suspension and abruptly closed the Army’s investigation. The New York Times reported that the moves represented “a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon,” adding that the decree “was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.”
If the Post’s reporting is accurate, this also contributed to the ouster of the nation’s most decorated and highly respected officers. (While George did not comment on the reporting, Hegseth sent the Post a comment that sidestepped the underlying issue and touted LaNeve as someone who’s “not interested in playing politics in Washington.”)
The broader problem, however, goes well beyond the secretary’s dubious decision to fire the former Army chief without cause. The Times reported:
A series of firings and feuds initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has left the Army essentially rudderless as it struggles to deal with the threat posed by cheap, deadly drones and missiles that have pounded U.S. bases in the Middle East.
The Army has not had a chief of staff, the service’s top officer, since Mr. Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George without explanation in April, and there are no signs that he is close to filling the position, said current and former officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Mr. Hegseth has forced out at least three senior officers who had been viewed as potential successors to General George.
What’s more, MS NOW has confirmed that Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, the service’s top civilian leader, is also expected to step down soon, following a series of clashes with the incumbent Pentagon chief.
Hegseth has taken an interest of late in commandeering the Stars and Stripes newspaper and making unprecedented stops on the campaign trail in support of Republican congressional candidates, but if he focused more on his actual day job, the Army would likely be better off, and the secretary’s record would probably have far fewer humiliations.
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