The Reaction to GEN Donahue's Firing
reprinted from RedState
By streiff
The forced retirement of U.S. Army General Chris Donahue has generated nearly as much ink as President Harry S. Truman's firing of General Douglas MacArthur, and it definitely created more consternation on the left than President Jimmy Carter's booting of General John Singlaub or President George H. W. Bush's firing of General Frederick Woerner; see Hegseth's Pentagon Shake-Up Steamrolls Ahead As Last Man Out of Afghanistan Gets Shown the Door – RedState.
Let me say up front that I'm not acquainted with General Donahue or his partisans on one side or the other of this issue. I'm merely offering my observations not only as a former infantry officer but also as a political observer. Having said all that, the discussion is missing two critical points, in my opinion.
First and foremost, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has the duty to shape the nation's corps of General and Flag Officers. He does that with the consent of the President, who "has reposed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities" of each officer. Promotion to GOFO rank is not something that a neutral committee does. Yes, a promotion board selects a slate of the best-qualified candidates. Then the service chief of staff reviews the list and, if necessary, makes changes. The service secretary weighs in. The Secretary of War gets involved. Then it goes to the White House for final review, and ultimately, the Senate confirms those nominated or not. Shenanigans are not unknown; see Four-Star General Suspended and Under IG Investigation for Tampering With Command Selection Board – RedState and Army Secretary Fires a Corrupt Four-Star but Leaves Corruption at the Top Untouched – RedState.
Hegseth has embarked on an ambitious reform of the Pentagon and is proceeding at breakneck speed. To make that work, he has to have senior commanders and civilians who believe in his program. If there is any doubt of their full-throated support, he must get rid of them. Generals and admirals associated with the corrupt policies of the Lloyd Austin era have been removed. A partial list is below.
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Adm. Lisa Franchetti — Chief of Naval Operations.
Gen. James Slife — Air Force Vice Chief of Staff.
Gen. Timothy Haugh — Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and NSA Director.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse — Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Rear Adm. Milton Sands — Commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.
Gen. David Allvin — Air Force Chief of Staff.
Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore — Chief of Navy Reserve.
Lt. Gen Joseph B. Berger III — Judge Advocate General of the Army.
Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer — Judge Advocate General of the Air Force.
Lt Gen. Jennifer Short — Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield — United States Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee.
Gen. Randy George — Army Chief of Staff.
Gen. David Hodne — Commander of Army Transformation and Training Command.
Maj. Gen. William Green Jr. — Army Chief of Chaplains.
Holding a senior rank is not a sinecure. It isn't a personal bauble. It is a trust, and part of that trust is loyalty to the President and the Secretary of War, as well as fealty to the Constitution. You can't be faithful to the Constitution while surreptitiously fighting the policies of the commander-in-chief. As one of my old bosses once told us: "Guys, I'll never ask you to like a single thing I tell you to do. But I will demand that you do it to the best of your ability."
We are told that Donohue is "one of America's most-admired general officers."
That may be true, but that appellation and $25 will get you a small cup of very gay coffee at Starbucks. I have no idea what metric would allow you to arrive at that conclusion.
What we do know about Donohue is less than admirable.
Our own Jennifer van Laar reported in EXCLUSIVE: Maj Gen Ordered 50+ Evacuees off One of Last Flights out of Kabul to Make Room for Taliban Souvenir – RedState that:
In a number of articles penned in the following days, Donahue is characterized as “uniquely qualified” for that moment in time and generally depicted as a humble, understated leader of his division.Unfortunately, everything isn’t quite as it may seem. During the last hours of the evacuation, according to troops under his command and as documented by photographs and witness statements, Donahue ordered all of the passengers aboard a C-17 transport plane to disembark so he could have a souvenir loaded onto the plane. That souvenir, or “war trophy,” was an inoperable Taliban-owned Toyota Hilux with a fully operational Russian ZU-23 anti-aircraft autocannon mounted in the bed. Once the Hilux was loaded passengers were allowed back on the plane, but, of course, there wasn’t room for all of them. According to troops on the scene, at least 50 people and perhaps as many as 100 people were left at Kabul to make room for the Hilux.
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