The Army now has no confirmed leaders, either military or civilian, after Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after a long period of conflict with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.Driscoll handed in his resignation to President Trump and is set to leave soon, according to the Wall Street Journal.This happened after a major disagreement with Hegseth about how the Army should be run.
This leaves the Army in a leadership crisis that has never happened before.
Since Hegseth quickly removed Driscoll’s close friend, General Randy George, without any explanation, General Christopher LaNeve has been acting as the chief.
The White House described Driscoll’s exit in a positive way, saying he helped make the Army stronger under Trump’s leadership.
A White House spokesperson said, “The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War.”
This statement doesn’t mention the problems that happened behind the scenes.
Driscoll and George worked closely together to prepare the Army for modern warfare using drones.Driscoll also played a key role in White House talks about peace in Ukraine and Russia.But Hegseth started to lose trust in the top Army leaders and fired George during a short phone call earlier this year.This made Driscoll feel more isolated and left him with very little communication with his boss.
Until recently, Driscoll had not mentioned any plans to resign.
Driscoll’s departure is part of a trend where Hegseth has removed or pushed out many experienced Army leaders.
Hegseth has now fired or forced out at least six senior officers, reducing the number of four-star generals in the Army from ten to just five — the lowest number in decades.This comes as the Army is facing its busiest time since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, dealing with missile attacks from Iran in the Middle East and helping Ukraine defend against Russia.
With no confirmed civilian leader and no confirmed chief of staff currently in charge, critics are worried that this leadership gap could not come at a worse time.
The Army is now trying to handle a more dangerous world without anyone in a permanent, Senate-approved position.
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This whole administration is corrupt and incompetent!..