Dan Driscoll served as Secretary of the Army after 18 months. The top civilian in the army quit yesterday without an official reason being given. There are, however, countless rumors of conflicts with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (known less-than-affectionately here as Whiskey Pete Kegsbreath). Whenever someone resigns in government, the reason is a variation of being unable to do the job in the way one wants. Usually, but not always, that is the fault of the management. As a direct subordinate to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Driscoll’s departure is almost certainly the fault of Mr. Kegsbreath. He has taken a chainsaw to the US top command, and he has made the nation weaker.
The Associated Press reported:
“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
“The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,” she added.
Ms. Kelly is a liar. The US Army is unable to get the job done in Iran because the president is afraid of the losses. And there would be massive losses simply because the US Army in particular, and the military in general, is not up to the job owing to personnel problems Mr. Kegsbreath has created. In the last few months, he has fired several top commanders. Mr. Kegsbreath, who attained the rank of major in his military career, has sacked:
- Randy George: The top general for the U.S. Army was forced to retire immediately in April 2026. This happened after he and Hegseth disagreed over staff promotions.
- Gen. Chris Donahue: The commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa was forced out in June 2026.
- Gen. James Mingus: The Army Vice Chief of Staff was pushed out in 2025.
- CQ Brown: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the highest-ranking military officer) was removed during the leadership shakeup.
- Lisa Franchetti: The Navy Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations was also removed from her post
This is clearly not a case of a disgruntled subordinate because there are so many of them. When that many officers are removed, the trouble is not with those ousted but with the one doing the ousting. A major firing generals and admirals is ridiculous, but that is where the Defense Department (not the Department of War) is.
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), former army officer, said “Secretary Hegseth is cultivating a culture where dissent is punished and competence is secondary to personal allegiance [while] hundreds of thousands of soldiers are deployed around the world, many in combat zones.”
None of this would be quite so serious if the US were not engaged in failing combat with Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is closed and opening it will either require giving the Iranian government control over it, or a massive land invasion of Iran to secure the northern end of the strait. Without the generals in position, the US is not ready to take ground troops into combat.
There is, of course, a simple solution. Fire Kegsbreath.