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.”
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.”
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.
BACKGROUND:
New: SecDef Fires Defense Intelligence Agency Chief – RedState
Did He Jump…Or Was He Pushed? US Top Commander for Latin America Abruptly Retires – RedState
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.”
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