In addition to Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed two other senior military leaders on Friday evening.
Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton “Jamie” Sands III, who led Naval Special Warfare Command (which oversees the Navy SEALs), were also dismissed. Both had been in their posts for about a year.
According to Nicholas Slayton at Task & Purpose:
Lacore joined the Navy in 1990 and became a naval aviator, piloting helicopters with Helicopter Combat Support Squadrons Three and Eight, before moving to staff positions. She became Chief of Navy Reserve on Aug. 23, 2024. Sands entered the Navy in 1992. A Navy SEAL, he has deployed to the war in Afghanistan. He had been in charge of Naval Special Warfare Command since Aug. 2, 2024.
No detailed justification was offered for the removals. Hegseth cited a familiar phrase — “loss of confidence” — in reference to Kruse, a catch-all that’s become routine under the Trump administration’s push to reshape top defense leadership.
The shake-up appears to be part of a broader, deliberate effort to clear out senior officials seen as out of step with the president’s vision or priorities.
Slayton continues, detailing the shake-ups that have unfolded since January:
Along with Allvin and the firings this week, several top military officers were removed from their positions once the Trump administration began. In February, Trump and Hegseth fired several of the top military leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr., Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, and the Air Force’s second in command, Gen. James Slife. Additional firings since have included the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the head of U.S. Cyber Command.
The chief of naval operations position sat vacant for almost half a year until Adm. Daryl Caudle was confirmed by the Senate at the end of July. It is not immediately clear who will take over for Lacore or Sands.
Kruse’s firing followed a controversial intelligence leak. A June assessment by the DIA found that U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites had delayed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by only a few months. That internal report was later disclosed by CNN and The New York Times.
Critics, including Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) say the moves politicize national security. Warner accused the administration of turning intelligence and military leadership into a “loyalty test.”
The administration hasn’t responded to Warner’s comments.
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If a shoe doesn’t fit, let it go. MAGA!
I don’t know what role any of these individuals might have played in the recent “woke” nonsense our military subscribed to but if any at all they need to go. I think the look on the senior officer’s face sitting on Hegseth’s right says it all.
Hooray Victory