Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is not only “incompetent” for purging long-time military leaders but also “playing Russian roulette with the security of the United States,” according to a retired U.S. Army General.
Randy Manner, who retired in 2012 after serving more than 30 years in the U.S. Army, told CNN Wednesday that while he believed the number of generals needed to be reduced, he did not agree with the rationale used to determine which leaders would be fired.
“The problem is that the Secretary of Defense has already proven that he’s trying to purge the military. He’s already fired 80 people, 80 generals and admirals, because of their gender, because they’re not white like him, or because they were associated with General [Mark] Milley or others," Manner said. "Incredibly competent generals, and he’s getting rid of them.”
On Wednesday, Hegseth announced additional 10 per cent cuts to positions reserved for generals and admirals. He had already made 10 percent cuts to these positions last year.
Hegseth discussed the cuts during an ideology-heavy speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He told an audience of troops that the people who "clung to the 'woke department' ... no longer work here."
“The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue. And frankly, the bare minimum," he said.
Hegseth's speech focused on the identity of those serving, and on who he wants in the armed forces and who he aims to exclude.
“The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top. Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength,” he said.
He further insisted that the Department of Defense is “no longer the woke department or the weak department.”
Hegseth made his speech the same day that President Donald Trump told reporters that he was at a decision point on the Iran War.
“We have to make that decision: We blow them up or make a deal,” Trump said, during an Oval Office press briefing.
On CNN, anchor Jake Tapper asked Manner if he had "any concerns about now being the right time to cut senior military positions, given the fact that the U.S. is engaged in an active war with Iran?”
Manner said the decision was "unbelievable."
"It’s sophomoric. Think about this — if it were a business with a $1.5 trillion budget and over a million and a half people in it. Any corporation would have to be very thoughtful to be able to figure out how to restructure the organization, so there was no loss of ability to serve the customers and to reduce any kind of risks," he said.
Manner said that a "thoughtful" restructuring would be wise, but added that Hegseth is "not doing that."
"He, literally, is purging people who don’t agree with him. The problem is that this incompetent Secretary of Defense is actually dealing not with the profitability of a corporation, but is instead playing Russian roulette with the security of the United States. This is extremely dangerous."
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who served during the Obama administration, told CNN News Central that he thinks Hegseth’s cuts are “reckless.”
“I think it's a decision that's going to hurt our military readiness, particularly at a time of war. We're in a war with Iran, and the secretary is now going to get rid of 20 percent of our command structure. He's impacting on our chain of command when we are in a war, and I think that's reckless,” Panetta said. “And it also loses the experience of a group of commanders who have been in battle, know the military, have earned their promotion, are very capable, and we're going to suddenly lose that experience while we're in a war.”
He later told MS NOW that he fears Hegseth’s actions will “weaken our military readiness.”
During the same program, former U.S. Army officer Margaret Donovan told MS NOW that many of the same people Hegseth is planning to fire were individuals who were promoted during the first Trump administration, and who could provide valuable experience to the "inexperienced" defense secretary.
The Independent has requested comment from the Department of Defense.
