A month into the war with Iran, the hatred of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth continues its exponential growth. The latest attack is by former Naval War College faculty member Tom Nichols, whose claim to fame is declaring himself, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, to be an expert. In a piece in The Atlantic, one of those magazines/outlets that everyone says they read, but no one really does, called "Hegseth’s War on America’s Military," Nichols lambastes Hegseth for actually shaping the U.S. military.
Hegseth began his tenure by acting against what he sees as a Pentagon infested with DEI hires. He pushed for the removal of the then–chairman of the Joint Chiefs, C. Q. Brown, who is Black, and he fired a raft of female military leaders, replacing them all with men. But dumping the Army chief of staff in the middle of a war, without explanation, is a reckless move even by Hegseth’s standards. George is a decorated combat veteran who was slated to stay in his job until 2027, and he has never publicly feuded with Hegseth—despite having good reason to do so.
Trump and Hegseth have been on a clear mission to politicize the U.S. military, and to turn it into an armed extension of the MAGA movement. Hegseth regularly proselytizes, both for Trump and for his right-wing evangelical beliefs, from the Pentagon podium. He has intervened in Army promotions, recently culling four colonels—two Black men and two women—from the list for advancement to brigadier general. (This may be the tip of the iceberg: NBC is now reporting that Hegseth has also canceled the promotions, across multiple services, of at least a dozen minority and female officers.) When two Army helicopters buzzed a political rally and then flew to MAGA favorite Kid Rock’s house, Hegseth short-circuited the Army’s suspension of the pilots and squashed an investigation into their actions. In keeping with the best American civil-military traditions, George and other senior military leaders have been remarkably disciplined in keeping their thoughts out of the public eye.
First off, no one, least of all the former management at the Department of War, would deny that the Pentagon, from Obama's first term through the appointment of Pete Hegseth, was consumed with DEI and all of its permutations. The Air Force had racial and gender quotas for pilots. The Army had similar quotas for senior commands. Mental illness disguised as sexual dysfunction, or vice versa, was imposed on the services and funds allocated for the necessary "addadictomy" and "takadicfromy" surgeries (hat tip to the late, great, and lamented Rush Limbaugh for those terms). Women were shoehorned into career fields where they could not physically do the job and became liabilities to themselves and everyone else for the sake of creating firsts.
Nichols, along with many other online midwits, was particularly incensed when Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Randy George; see Pete Hegseth Gives the Army Chief of Staff His Walking Papers – RedState. "But dumping the Army chief of staff in the middle of a war, without explanation, is a reckless move even by Hegseth’s standards," rages Nichols.
Being an expert and all, I would have thought Nichols would be aware that a) the war with Iran does not involve the U.S. Army in any meaningful way at this juncture, and b) the Army Chief of Staff, even in a ground war, does not command anything, he is responsible for "organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining Army forces for combatant commanders." Combatant commanders fight the war. All three- and four-star officers serve at the pleasure of the president, and when the Secretary of War tells them it is time to leave, they leave. I don't have any more knowledge of General George's performance than does Nichols, though I have one helluva lot more understanding of what George's job entails. The Secretary of War is entitled to build a team of leaders in which he has trust and confidence that they will carry out all the lawful orders issued to them, and will do so "without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion."
Even if George performed flawlessly but did not mesh with Hegseth, it is better for everyone if he goes away. And explaining a personnel move not only makes it obvious that you are weak and seeking the media's adulation, but it may also violate the law.
There are three threads running through this tale.
First, many general officers have come to see themselves as political free agents. They cavort with Congressional aides behind the back of the administration they serve. They surreptitiously make budget deals despite the official position of the Department of War and the president. They leak like sieves to promote and denigrate strategic options that benefit them and their career, not the U.S. or the military. And many of them spend that last couple of years as a general, furiously sucking up to defense contractors so they can eke out a retirement on a six-figure pension with a seven-figure director's stipend.
Second, the U.S. military really hasn't had anyone pick it up by the scruff of the neck and shake it like a Jack Russell terrier shaking a rat since George C. Marshall cashiered about three-fourths of Army commanders in the first year of World War II. Groupthink rules. It is go-along-to-get-along. There is no room for iconoclasts. This is the mentality that produced lost wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and promoted the men who lost the war because they belonged to the right club. That must change, and Hegseth is making a valiant effort to start the ball rolling.
Third, many people at home and abroad owe their careers to generals and admirals they have "befriended." The anguished cries about the demise of General George convince me that a lot of what we are seeing is politicians and journalists crying over a valuable source. We were all appalled when we first learned that former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley had called his Chinese counterpart to reassure him that he, Milley, would prevent any military action by Trump. I think we should also be appalled that a former Indian admiral and Iranian simp would post this attack on Hegseth as a defense of George.
Irony. US Army chief, Gen George, rose from Private to distinguished 4-star rank, via West Point, only to be fired by a former National Guard Major who rose to cabinet rank via Fox News & Trump’s patronage. pic.twitter.com/gYDcV3AKdN
— Adm. Arun Prakash (@arunp2810) April 3, 2026
This, alone, disqualifies George from any possible sympathy. If a Vindman is in awe of your character, there is a problem.
General Randy George is a tremendous public servant and soldier.
— Congressman Eugene Vindman (@RepVindman) April 2, 2026
It is disappointing to see a leader of his caliber pushed aside because the president wants a yes-man.
If there are questions about the quality of leadership at the Pentagon, they should be directed at Secretary… https://t.co/ituHi8mYrj
Contrary to Nichols's ill-thought-out screed, Hegseth hasn't "declared war" on the American military. He's a man on a mission with no patience for anyone who is not willing to embrace the changes the U.S. military desperately needs if it is not going to be trounced in a ground war with a peer- or near-peer competitor. He seems to agree with General George C. Marshall on the eve of World War II: "Most of our senior officers on such duty are deadwood and should be eliminated from the service as rapidly as possible." And I don't think you can look at the metaphorical Trail of Tears of the last 20 years and not agree that is the case.
For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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