Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “My Way or Highway” message has given a message to hundreds of generals and fans at a summit in Virginia last week that some top leaders may choose to completely get out of the US Army.
The departure of two senior leaders last week stopped the concerns, although the Pentagon says they were unrelated to Hegseth’s ultimatum.
A retired Air Force Colonel and former military lawyer, who watched the speech, said, “His speech directly attacked the values of several senior officers and listed members in the audience, and I would expect many of them to demonstrate their hatred as they retired.”
General Thomas Busier, head of the Air Force Global Strike Command and General Brian Fenton, head of the US Special Operations Command, Tampa, Fla were based on the McDil Air Force Base to release two senior military leaders.
Bussiere, who was appointed by President Trump, was first nominated to serve as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force in August, but his nomination was pulled out a few weeks later.
In the declaration of his retirement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, he cited “personal and family reasons” as the main driver for his departure, given that he had decided “difficult” after a lot of reflection.
Fenton retired after three years in the role. “FWIW, General Fenton planned to retire retired last week on Social Platform X last week, Hegseth’s advisor Christina Wong said last week, it was not tied to Sex’s speech.”
High-profile exit Quantico, Wa. In hundreds of top admirals and generals came out a few hours after Hegseth’s speech, in which he underlined his attitude of a military zero of “voke garbage”, and he proposed limitations on the rules of engagement and most wools that allow soldiers to allow a beard to soldiers. He also announced that he would curb the whistleblower and inspector normal tasks, changing how military Hung and other types of misuse, and the drill allows Sergeant to “put his hand on the recruitment”.
Hegseth told most Stoic audiences, “If the words I am speaking today, you are making your heart a sink, then you should do respectable work and resign.”
The comments inspired the New York Times to run an unusual title last week, inviting senior military leaders to talk to the outlet, they should actually decide to resign.
“Are you leaving the army? We want to hear from you,” of Times September 30 Story Headline Reading.
Some Democrats are urging military leaders who disagree with Hegseth to live where they are.
An Air Force veteran said on CNN last week, “If the challenge” comes out, I will tell those generals, stay stay, stay stay. ” “Because we need you. We need you and your experience to combat Mr. Hegseth’s message and the President himself clearly.”
Hegseth also promised the top brass to continue firing, which did not align with their vision. And on Friday, he announced the exclusion of John Harrison, the head of the employees of the Navy’s secretary, who was the first appointmenter during the Trump administration.
In his Tuesday’s speech, Hegseth said, “As you have seen and the media has passed obsessed, I have fired many senior officials since assuming office.” “For me, justification, straightened: It is almost impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped to create or even benefit from that culture, even if that culture was created by the previous president and previous secretary.”
Carrie Lee, a senior partner of the German martial fund, said she would not be surprised to see other retirement declarations after Hegseth’s pointed words.
“whether [Bussiere’s] The enrollment for the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force was pulled out and his successor was announced-there was nowhere for them to go to them, right, career-wise-but the fact that the announcement dropped as Hegseth’s speech night, I think it’s not a coincidence, “Lee told Hill.
He said, “I would not be surprised to see retirement.” “It is already having more type of lower senior to upper, middle-grade level. So thinking about Colonel and one-stars and two-stars, people who are denying assignments, choose to retire instead of being in force, make very personal decisions with their family whether it is an institution that reflects their values or not.”
Michael O’halon, a senior foreign policy companion at the Brookings Institution think tank, said he suspects that there would be a collective migration, but he considers “comprehensive anxiety” among those in the armed forces.
“When I talk to military officials, they have many views. Most of them do not want to choose public fights with Trump. Most of them are not to consider the resignation. Some of them are like some aspects of administration,” he told Hill. “You keep it together, there are very few people who are indifferent to such dramatic events, this type of change.”
He said that he believes that there are very few people who are getting ready to resign, “but there are many people who are nervous and anxious, where the all-volunteer force is led where the country is led, and for the most part, they are just trying to roll with punches and unless they are asking for laws or their work.”
Lee reported that to use his speech to focus on several pressure issues within the army, to damage the process of Pentagon, between the ever -increasing suicide rates and frequent sexual assault rates between service members, and to handle complaints and allegations, Hegsith separated his top leaders.
“The army is working with a lot of suicide rates. It is dealing with a sexual attack crisis. It is working with many people’s issues. And hence they have made something very important, in my opinion, the organization and organizational culture seems to have a reality that Hegseth wants to really roll back,” he said.
“For many officers who are responsible for the creation of soldiers and look at suicide epidemic, actually destroy their units, and sexual harassment see tear units separately … So it is said that ‘we do not care about that’ when the army is actually a person’s organization, it is not surprising to me that many people who are not surrounded.”
The announcement of Bussiere’s retirement also heads the Chief of Staff General of the Air Force, David Alvin, who said in August that he would retire in November after two years of service of his four -year tenure. Although Bussiere did not mention Hegseth’s speech in his resignation note, he suggested that he would find other ways to support the US Army after leaving.
“When I am getting away from active duty, my commitment to service remains. I am eager to find new ways to support my Air Force, our national defense and unreliable people, which make it possible,” he wrote.
