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<\/p>\nThis week\u2019s resignation of the Army\u2019s top civilian leader has amplified questions about military leadership under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n
As the United States once again stepped up hostilities against Iran, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll\u2019s departure \u2013\u00a0Wednesday was his last day on the job \u2013\u00a0has also raised questions about the extent to which Mr. Hegseth is prioritizing political loyalty over professional military judgment.<\/p>\n
An Iraq War veteran and law school classmate of Vice President JD Vance, Mr. Driscoll is widely reported to have clashed with Mr. Hegseth over the future of the force. He is also said to have pushed back against Mr. Hegseth\u2019s decision to fire or block the promotions of dozens of top officers without explaining why \u2013 moves that ended careers for many, including a number of Black and female candidates.<\/p>\n
Why We Wrote This<\/p>\n
War requires discipline and problem-solving. Dan Driscoll\u2019s resignation as Army secretary highlights a pattern of moves by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth \u2013 at a time of conflict \u2013 that appears to prioritize political loyalty over expertise.<\/p>\n
These moves could have a chilling effect on dissent within the ranks \u2013\u00a0perhaps by design, some military analysts say \u2013\u00a0at a time when, with tens of thousands of U.S. troops now deployed to the Middle East, frank military advice is needed most.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get rid of a few people, it starts becoming more and more difficult for people to push back to say, \u2018Wait a minute, Mr. Secretary,\u2019\u201d says retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 to 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou quell any likelihood of people saying, \u2018This isn\u2019t going to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Mounting tensions<\/p>\n
Last April, when Mr. Hegseth fired the Army\u2019s top officer, Gen. Randy George, without explanation, Mr. Driscoll objected.<\/p>\n
That fueled tensions between the two men dating back to \u201cSignalgate\u201d in March 2025, when Mr. Hegseth accidentally added a reporter to a social media chat about a sensitive military operation. Had Mr. Hegseth not survived the scandal, Mr. Driscoll was rumored to have been a possible successor.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth applauds during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, June 18, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n
There were other flashpoints in the jockeying between the two men. The Army secretary had worked closely with General George on efforts to modernize the Army with programs focused on drone warfare, for example, taking lessons from Ukraine to make unmanned systems standard equipment for more soldiers.<\/p>\n
Together, Mr. Driscoll and General George drove the development of counterdrone and artificial intelligence technologies to speed up decision-making on the battlefield, before the general was pushed into retirement.<\/p>\n
Last month, word was that an experimental drone battalion, a signature initiative launched by Mr. Driscoll and General George, was being disbanded at the behest of Mr. Hegseth\u2019s new acting Army chief of staff, Gen. Christopher LaNeve. With a reputation for conventional combat soldiering, General LaNeve had served as Mr. Hegseth\u2019s senior military aide.<\/p>\n
The decision drew criticism as possible personal retaliation and a parochial setback to modernization, despite assurances from Army officials that the phasing out of the drone battalion was a long-planned step to weave lessons learned back into the force.<\/p>\n
That may well have been the case, analysts say. But the narrative surrounding it \u2013\u00a0that it was back-burnered because it was General George\u2019s project \u2013\u00a0shows the extent, they add, to which Mr. Hegseth\u2019s moves have created a sense of distrust within the service.<\/p>\n
Tumult and extended tours<\/p>\n
As insidery as they can seem, such policy and personnel moves can have a real impact on military preparedness. U.S. bases in the Middle East are now coming under drone attack. And this week, 82nd Airborne Division troops stationed there were told that because of the Iran war, their tours will be extended to one year, well into 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are carrying a lot while your partner is away,\u201d Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, division commander, wrote in a Sunday memo to troops\u2019 families.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s difficult news to deliver, and \u201cI think leadership there is doing all the right things,\u201d Mr. Hodges says.<\/p>\n
But when there\u2019s tumult at the top, troops and their families may start to question such extensions, or wonder if commanders felt empowered to push back enough on orders, he adds. Mr. Hegseth, for his part, has been accused of unlawful retribution, including against a U.S. lawmaker. The defense secretary censured Sen. Mark Kelly, a veteran, and sought to reduce his military pension after he appeared in a video reminding troops of their right to disobey unlawful orders.<\/p>\n
Though civilian control of the military is enshrined within the U.S. Constitution, top administration officials from across the political aisle have long valued candid feedback from their military advisers.<\/p>\n
The latest developments have left many analysts skeptical about whether senior officers, in particular, will be candid in their counsel with Mr. Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n
But there is cause for hope on that front for troops who speak truth to power, says one retired Army general, who requested anonymity to speak freely given, he said, the administration\u2019s retribution against active duty and retired military personnel.<\/p>\n
For many three- and four-star officers, \u201cThey\u2019re far enough at the end of their careers that I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to hold back on their advice based on their worries about losing their current jobs,\u201d the general argues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in an environment where plenty of people are getting fired for doing nothing obviously wrong, or saying nothing obviously contentious,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll continue to give advice as they see it. They\u2019ll do it tactfully, and they\u2019ll do it realizing that it\u2019s often not going to be welcome,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut I have a lot of confidence that they\u2019ll continue to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week\u2019s resignation of the Army\u2019s top civilian leader has amplified questions about military leadership under Defense Secretary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[120],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-215979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pete-hegseth","tag-pete-hegseth"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117217371771323614","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}