A retired U.S. Army officer who trains active-duty leaders and battalion staff has engaged in a pattern of public statements and behavior that contradict Pentagon guidance on post-retirement conduct, discipline, and accountability, RedState has learned. Brad Duplessis, a combat veteran, National War College graduate, and former professor at the Army's Command and General Staff College, serves as a Leader Training Program Battalion Coach for V2X Inc. Despite educating current Army officers and staff who will one day retire and become subject to the very standards Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is pushing to strengthen, Duplessis has publicly contradicted the Department of War’s guidance on retired officers’ conduct while highlighting his work shaping future Army leaders to offer credibility to his contradictions.
Duplessis has openly criticized the new standards, which emerged after the so-called “Seditious Six” controversy in November 2025, when Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, joined five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds in a video urging service members to refuse what they described as illegal orders. President Trump and Hegseth condemned the remarks as seditious and prejudicial to good order and discipline, prompting an aggressive Pentagon effort to hold retired officers accountable for public statements that could undermine military cohesion.
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While a single public disagreement might be dismissed as an isolated expression of personal opinion, others have argued that Duplessis’s conduct is part of a broader and consistent pattern of public criticism directed at the Department of War and its leadership. His remarks that Hegseth's court filing in the Kelly case lacks merit are a glaring example:
The Pentagon under Hegseth has moved aggressively to hold retirees accountable for public statements or actions viewed as prejudicial to good order and discipline.
Duplessis works under a Pentagon contract with V2X Inc., a diversified defense contractor that earns its Pentagon work through a broad mix of training, operations, logistics, sustainment, and technology/engineering solutions. The company has secured multiple large awards with contract ceilings in the tens to hundreds of billions.
Further scrutiny falls on Duplessis for his willingness to repeatedly attack active-duty Army officers, including one currently serving on the Secretary of War’s staff in the Pentagon. In one Bluesky post, he alleged, without verification, that the officer had received a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) and suggested it could trigger a grade determination review board when he retires.
RedState reached out to the LTC in question, and he called the claim that he received a GOMOR in his file “demonstrably false.”
The comment appeared in a thread discussing the potential weaponization of such accountability mechanisms to punish officers over policy or ideological disagreements rather than substantiated misconduct. This situation highlights tensions in ongoing reforms aimed at maintaining military cohesion even after service members retire.
Retired officers remain subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and the Trump administration has signaled it will not tolerate behavior from the retired ranks that would be unacceptable on active duty. Duplessis’s position as an LTP Battalion Coach means he’s directly responsible for preparing tomorrow’s senior military leaders. V2X’s significant government contracts to provide this training support mean American taxpayers fund Duplessis’ role in shaping officer development. In at least one documented instance, Duplessis highlighted his ongoing work training Army leaders while criticizing the Trump Admin for “putting kids in cages.”
According to a version of the company’s Code of Conduct policy provided to RedState by a source, V2X employees are directed to “use social media responsibly and in accordance with company values and policies.” The policy also states that the company reserves the right to determine if a post violates policy and to take disciplinary action. “Never post false information or anything that might defame others or damage our brand or reputation,” the policy says.
A member of V2X’s corporate relations team called Duplessis’ behavior “concerning,” but deferred official comment to the company’s communications team, which declined to respond.
This is far from the first instance of tension in the Pentagon’s contractor pool. The DoW’s conflict with Anthropic over the AI company’s refusal to provide unrestricted use of its models for lawful military purposes continues to be an evolving storyline. V2X is arguably a far more significant Pentagon partner, serving as a major defense and mission solutions provider, a key supporter of critical Army training programs, and an emerging technology ally.
When reached for comment, Duplessis gave the following statement:
“Like all Americans, I have the right to voice my concerns with government policy and did so as a private citizen in a recently published article that led to my wife and disabled son being doxxed, harassed, and threatened. I am currently working on potential civil and criminal options to hold the responsible parties accountable and prevent others from experiencing a similar fate.
"I also recently filed a Congressional complaint regarding the repeated online misconduct of a currently serving officer who routinely harasses fellow servicemembers, the media, and shows contempt for elected officials while working in OSD (Public Affairs). I have been informed by multiple individuals that this officer was reprimanded in the past. No American should be silenced by their government or its surrogates.”
How the DoW will react to public opposition to core DoW policy from someone in a position significantly funded by taxpayers remains to be seen. Duplessis has every right as a private citizen and retired officer to express policy views, but the combination of his V2X contract role, his direct influence over officers heading toward retirement, and his public stance against the Secretary’s accountability efforts marks the first time such a conflict of interest has been reported.
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