Pete Hegseth — the Fox News host who has never commanded soldiers in battle, never ran an organization bigger than a TV set-up, and even had to be hospitalized for stress-related problems while working at the Pentagon — recently fired one of the most decorated Army generals in the country and replaced him with his own personal assistant.
Defense Secretary Hegseth has removed General Randy George from his position as Army Chief of Staff, making him retire more than two years before his term was supposed to end.
George is a West Point graduate and a career soldier who has served in Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan — a man who has spent decades in real combat, while people like Pete Hegseth have spent decades on TV.
His new replacement is General Christopher LaNeve — someone who used to work as Hegseth’s military aide.
A Pentagon spokesperson said LaNeve is “completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.”
Without fault.
That’s the new standard. Not combat experience. Not strategic thinking. Not respect from soldiers. Just blind loyalty to Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump, and no mistakes.
General George is at least the thirteenth top military leader that Hegseth has fired or forced out.
This includes Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, Defense Intelligence Agency head Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, and many others. The U.S. military is being replaced with people who are loyal to Hegseth — not because the old leaders have failed, but because they might refuse to go along.
And the timing is perfect.
Just a few days ago, Hegseth publicly ignored the Army’s own disciplinary process after Army pilots flew a helicopter over Kid Rock’s Nashville home. He tweeted, “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.” The Army had already decided to suspend the pilots and conduct an investigation. Hegseth overruled that decision via a tweet because the pilot was apparently a fan of a musician who plays at football games.
Now the Army Chief of Staff who was in charge of that process is gone.
Was it a coincidence? We’re told it’s not. If this administration had any credibility left, we might believe that. But the firing could also be because of disagreements over how the war with Iran is being handled.
Here’s the big picture: America is currently engaged in a war with Iran.
Soldiers are getting hurt and killed. Bases are being targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. And the man in charge of the U.S. Army has just fired a general who has real combat experience and put in his own personal assistant in his place.
