[RS] Two flag or general officers have been replaced in the Pentagon in less than a week. I believe they left for markedly different reasons, but they demonstrate the way Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is reshaping the military bureaucracy.
First up is Lieutenant General Joseph McGee who is director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Joint Staff, also known as the J5, on the Joint Staff. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff website, the J5 "proposes strategies, plans, and policy recommendations to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to support his provision of military advice across the full spectrum of national security concerns to the President and other national leaders and to ensure those recommendations are informed by a larger strategic context--coordinated with interagency and alliance partners--account for the view and requirements of the combatant commanders, and assess risk in executing the National Military Strategy."
More than a dozen senior military officials have been fired, forced to retire or moved to less visible roles since the start of the year.
As a soldier, McGee is no slouch. He commanded companies in 1st and 2d Ranger Battalions, something few men could do without having an ulcer the size of a cantaloupe. He commanded a battalion, 1st Battalion, 327 Infantry, in the 101st Airborne and later commanded a brigade combat team in the same division. He has more "scare badges" than Audie Murphy and served 10 deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The crisis came when McGee decided, or it was decided for him, that he couldn't or wouldn't support the vision of Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine. His departure was announced with a terse, "Lt Gen. JP McGee will retire after nearly three years of outstanding leadership and service on the Joint Staff. We are grateful for his 35 years of honorable and dedicated service to the Nation. We owe him a great debt for his service and it is regrettable anonymous sources would put the focus anywhere else."
Ouch.
The backstory, according to CNN, is his disagreement with Hegseth and Caine over strategic priorities. McGee, it was said, had frequently "pushed back" against Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine on issues ranging from Russia and Ukraine to military operations in the Caribbean.
Another source told CNN that McGee has been a marked man for a while. He was promoted to three-star in May 2024. In December, Joe Biden renominated him to three-star rank, which means the J5 position was just a holding pattern until something better opened up. That nomination expired with the end of the 118th Congress, and President Trump has not renominated him. That was a sure sign that he was headed toward retirement.
His close relationship with the disgraced former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, and Secretary of Defense and Unauthorized Absences Lloyd Austin, more likely than not, had a lot to do with the decision to forego his renomination. The "push back" was probably fed by the knowledge that his career was basically over.
The second replacement of a FOGO involved Rear Admiral Kurt J. Rothenhaus, head of the Office of Naval Research. Rothenhaus, a 33-year veteran, was replaced by a 33-year-old partner from McKinsey & Company, the consulting behemoth. Rachel Riley comes to the job after ten months as a senior advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services, part of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Contrary to what top-shelf publications like The Daily Beast claimed (Pentagon Pete Purges Decorated Admiral for DOGE Goon, 33), Rothenhaus was not purged. He moved laterally to command Naval Information Warfare Systems Command or NAVWAR. I am not sufficiently familiar with the organization of the Naval Secretariat or the Chief of Naval Operations to say anything definitively, but NAVWAR was without a commander, it is the same grade, and it is at approximately the same level on organization charts.
Much is being made of Riley not being a "scientist." Truth be told, none of the four top military positions at ONR are held by scientists. Rothenhaus has a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. One of the military positions is filled by an MBA, one holds a Master's in Systems Analysis, and the third does not have an advanced degree. Riley doesn't have military experience, but neither do any of the top civilians at ONR.
Rarely do the heads of military research organizations have an office in a lab. Their job is to allocate resources, make value judgments on which technologies to pursue, and ensure the trains run on time. They are supported by a staff that are scientists or engineers. A background as a McKinsey partner is a good match for the job. A background at DOGE ensures a lean, efficient, and productive organization.
Hegseth and Cain have not been reticent about reshaping the military leadership. "More than a dozen senior military officials have been fired, forced to retire or moved to less visible roles since the start of the year, including former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown; the first female chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; the directors of the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency; the former director of the Joint Staff; the head of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom); and the top uniformed lawyers for the Army and Air Force."
#6
Re McGee’s time in the Regiment. He was a platoon leader then Company XO in 2/75. Later Asst S3 and Charlie company commander in 1/75. Then S3/Bn XO in 2/75 again. Later worked in the JSOC 3 shop. CIB but no V’s on his multiple Bronze Stars and no PH’s. A decent showing and respectable rep from the boys. That being said, all promotions above LTC are political. And of course he’s a ring knocker
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2025 00:00 ||
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Labor continues to mess around overtly in American politics. Hold them accountable just like Canada is being held accountable for the Ford’s ad campaign.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/03/2025 6:21 Comments ||
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[PJMEDIA] John Fetterman is done playing nice. The Pennsylvania senator has decided to light his own colleagues on fire over the ongoing government shutdown—and frankly, it's about time someone did. While Senate Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... have spent the past month pretending the crisis is all the GOP's fault, Fetterman has blown up that narrative by calling it what it is: self-inflicted chaos.
In a stunning interview with CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... 's Manu Raju, Fetterman didn't just criticize the Democratic Party line—he bulldozed it. ''Americans are not leverage,'' he said, as food assistance programs teetered on collapse with SNAP benefits hours away from drying up. ''This is not some sh—y gameshow about who's winning or whatever.''
While Fetterman knows what's what, his party has been shouting from the rooftops that Republicans own the shutdown because they hold the House, Senate, and White House. But that talking point falls apart under scrutiny. The truth is, Democrats are the ones filibustering the clean Continuing Resolution—because they think they can win politically by letting things get worse.
And now, Fetterman is clearly furious that his party is treating real people as leverage in this shutdown, and has no qualms about calling them out. For over a month now, the Schumer Shutdown has left families scrambling and federal workers unpaid. As Democrats keep filibustering a clean continuing resolution, Republicans have voted repeatedly to reopen the government immediately. But Democrats stubbornly refuse unless the GOP agrees to tack on an extension of Obamacare ...aka the Affordable Care Act, an ineptly designed and worse executed piece of legislation designed to bring 17 percent of the U.S. economy under the direct control of the government. The previous iteration, known as Hillarycare, was laughed out of Washington. This stinker was passed on a party-line vote without being read... subsidies.
Fetterman wasn't having it. ''It's just like, we have to be better than this and just open this up,'' he told Raju, practically begging his colleagues to act like adults.
He went further, offering an apology ''on behalf of my party'' for leaving Americans in limbo. Fetterman admitted the glaring truth: millions of Americans might soon lose access to food benefits, because Democrats would rather score points than solve problems.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2025 00:00 ||
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Faced with either being associated with Schumer or Lindsey's Graham, Fetterman has decided to pass and caucus with the janitor. I think he made the right decision. Even if he is voted out, he maintains his integrity. He can always become a tag team partner with John Daley or at something else yucks. The Senate needs Fetterman more than he needs the Senate.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/03/2025 6:19 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...every time you hear the phrase 
