Argument
How Military Leaders Should Respond to Trump’s Norm-Busting
There’s no shame in getting fired when it is not for cause. September 29, 2025, 12:13 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )
Trump, in a USA hat, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in sunglasses, look toward a man in fatigues and a red beret with his back to the camera.
Trump’s Second Term
Ongoing reports and analysis
In its first eight months so far, the Trump administration has fired or otherwise relieved some 15 senior military officers, most of whom were high-ranking three- and four-stars in the force. The first three months alone saw the abrupt removal of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations , commandant of the Coast Guard , vice chief of staff of the Air Force