Daniel Driscoll, secretary of the United States Army, has resigned after reportedly trying to appeal directly to President Donald Trump about the effect of changes in military leadership on the institution’s readiness for war.
Driscoll’s departure is the latest in a series of firings, resignations and forced early retirements involving senior military and civilian officials under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Why Driscoll’s role mattered
Appointed last February, Driscoll held the Army’s highest civilian post below the secretary of defense. He was involved in planning how the Army could adapt to modern wars that rely more heavily on drones and missiles and less on ground forces.
Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, said officials in these positions serve at the president’s pleasure, giving Hegseth, as Trump’s appointee, the power to remove them. But she said the number of firings and blocked promotions has raised questions about whether the senior levels of the military are being hollowed out.
A wider turnover at the top
The officials who have left or been replaced include General Charles Q Brown Jr., the former Air Force chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the former chief of naval operations; and General Randy A George, the former Army chief of staff. General David Allvin, the former Air Force chief of staff, retired early.
Senior civilian departures include Navy Secretary John Phelan, who resigned in April, while Driscoll’s final day was Wednesday. Lieutenant-General Jeffrey Kruse, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency, was fired after the agency reported that US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had not been effective. Other departures included senior commanders and officials from the Army, Navy and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The dispute over Hegseth’s priorities
Hegseth has focused on increasing what he calls military “lethality” and removing what he and Trump describe as “woke” ideology from the Pentagon. The administration has sought to undo diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and has argued that some women and minority personnel were promoted because of their demographics rather than performance. For additional context, see “Dan Driscoll hands resignation to Donald Trump amid Pentagon turmoil”.
The military has begun using “Department of War” instead of “Department of Defense” and has toned down or erased some public acknowledgments of women and minorities who were pioneers in the institution. Hegseth also announced annual testosterone screening for soldiers aged 30 and over as part of an initiative tied to sustaining the ability to fight.
Concerns about readiness and strategy
Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, said the turnover could damage long-term strategic planning. Senior service leaders are responsible for force modernisation and other broad issues, she said, and repeated changes in leadership can make it harder to maintain a consistent vision.
Senator Jack Reed, a former Army officer, said after Driscoll’s resignation that Hegseth was creating a culture in which dissent was punished and competence was secondary to personal allegiance. Experts also said the sidelining of senior women and minority officers could make personnel at lower ranks question whether the military would retain them over the long term.
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