The latest in a string of high-profile Pentagon departures is much worse than it seems, one defense expert wrote for MS NOW, as it further exposes the "unprecedented uncertainty" consuming the military under President Donald Trump.
Kevin Baron is a national security analyst and journalist with two decades of experience covering warzones and Pentagon affairs. On Wednesday, he published a new piece for MS NOW breaking down the recent resignation of Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and the extent to which it has "exposed a level of dissension with the senior ranks of the Department of Defense that has become alarmingly frequent and consistent."
"If his abrupt resignation stood alone, in any normal time it would be an extraordinary and concerning moment, no matter the reason. But Driscoll is the latest and among the highest ranking of the two dozen or so Defense Department leaders to be fired or forced out under Trump in 18 months," Baron explained. "In that short window, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have retired the Joint Chiefs chairman; the chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy; vice chiefs; combatant commanders; intelligence chiefs; and special operations leaders from Miami to NATO headquarters. In most cases, Hegseth’s team has declined to make public any reason for the leadership bloodbath. But a raft of reporting has detailed disagreements with the Trump administration ranging from racial diversity to wartime policy and perceptions of outright political loyalty."
In Driscoll's case, he noted, the disagreements over culture war issues were not to blame for his departure. Instead, according to reports, he felt that the avalanche of recent firings "harmed his mission to quickly modernize the U.S. military’s arsenal for the age of drone warfare. And Driscoll was Trump’s handpicked and GOP Senate-approved appointee to do just that."
Now, Baron added, the growing alarm around these Pentagon exits has become something much more alarming than simple beltway gossip.
"These Pentagon firings have become more than parlor gossip inside Washington; they signal unprecedented uncertainty," he explained. "America’s allies must weigh, for the moment at least, whether they believe the United States can protect their sixes if the Defense Department cannot meet its established commitments to fund, equip, train or fight alongside them. America’s industrial leaders must weigh how, where and when to invest, develop and build the nation’s arsenal and its critical capabilities. The nation’s youth must weigh whether they want to swear an oath, work hard, risk their life and do everything right in uniformed service — but still risk losing their career because one day a politician thinks they’re funny-looking."
Baron concluded: "For years, Pentagon leaders have called for predictability from the White House and Congress to ensure the best funded, equipped, trained and ready forces possible. But politics rules everything in Washington. Ultimately, American voters are the ones in charge. Americans voted for Trump in 2024 after he campaigned on a promise to clean out disloyal generals. They’re getting what they were promised. If critics of Trump and Hegseth want to return to good order and discipline in civilian-military relations, they’ll have to persuade more Americans to do exactly what Trump and Hegseth are doing at the Pentagon: clean house."
