The Trump transition team is floating a draft executive order that would establish a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel tasked with reviewing three- and four-star officers and to recommending removals of any deemed unfit for leadership, according to reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the EO would “fast track” the removal of officers found to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities,” possibly referring in part to former President Trump’s vow to purge “woke generals” from power.
“It’s gotten way too big,” one person familiar with the transition told the WSJ. “Trump also expects that many of the generals, the three- and four-star generals that have been under performing will basically be retired.”
From the WSJ:
As commander in chief, Trump can fire any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he intends to purge a number of generals and admirals.
The draft order says it aims to establish a review that focuses “on leadership capability, strategic readiness, and commitment to military excellence.” The draft doesn’t specify what officers need to do or present to show if they meet those standards. The draft order originated with one of several outside policy groups collaborating with the transition team, and is one of numerous executive orders under review by Trump’s team, a transition official said.
The warrior board would be made up of retired generals and noncommissioned officers, who would send their recommendations to the president. Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.
The warrior board appears to align with Trump’s promise to purge the military of “woke generals” and other leaders who promoted DEI policies and were responsible for foreign policy failures like the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
The establishment of the board would be in line with Trump’s calls for purging what he views as failed generals, including those involved in the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to people familiar with the policy discussions. Trump has said he would ask all generals involved in the withdrawal to resign by “noon on Inauguration Day.”
The president-elect previewed the move during a campaign event in October, telling an audience that he would create a task force to monitor the “woke generals” and get rid of diversity training in the military.
“They’re gone,” Trump said of those generals, without naming specific officers.
Predictably, some former Pentagon officials aren’t taking the EO proposal very well, claiming they’re worried Trump will install the military with only MAGA “yes men.”
“Do they start wearing MAGA hats in formation to signal who’s where?” asked one former senior Pentagon official. “The potential for this to go wrong is infinite.”
Eric Carpenter, a professor of military law at FIU College of Law, likewise told the WSJ, “This looks like an administration getting ready to purge anyone who will not be a yes man.”
“If you are looking to fire officers who might say no because of the law or their ethics, you set up a system with completely arbitrary standards, so you can fire anyone you want,” he said.
Trump had brought several former military officers onto his first administration, most notably Ret. Marine Gen. John Kelly as his chief of staff and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser.
But Ret. Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a supporter of woke Critical Race Theory who has come under particular scrutiny following Trump’s first term after reports emerged he established a secret back-channel with the Chinese before the 2020 election and assured the CCP military of advanced notice of U.S. military actions.
Milley also circumvented Trump’s presidential authority in the wake of January 6, convening a secret emergency meeting at the Pentagon demanding his Defense Department subordinates not to obey any order by Trump without his presence.
Those reports may help explain why Milley fears he will be court-martialed upon Trump’s return to the White House, according to Watergate journalist Bob Woodward.