Chain of Command
A while back in this space, I noted that folks at the Department of Justice failed to change out of the photos of the president, vice president and attorney general once President Trump was returned to office. The new attorney general then took it upon herself to remove the outdated portraits and stack them on the floor. I suggested at the time that the swamp’s infiltration of federal departments was quite deep.
Now comes word that the commander of Fort McCoy was relieved of duty after that U.S. Army base failed to install photos of President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a wall displaying chain of command. The frames were there…but curiously, no photos of anyone. Now I suppose they could have claimed it was hard to get current photos of the president, vice president, and defense secretary…but apparently, no defense was given for the dereliction of duty, leaving us to presume the obvious message.
Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez was suspended as Fort McCoy’s garrison commander. A statement from command indicated that the suspension is not related to any misconduct, but the matter is under review.
By the way, the frames were quickly filled after the colonel’s suspension…guess they found photos after all.
And recall that after the vice president visited the base in Greenland, the base commander emailed base personnel stating that the administration’s concerns are not reflective of the base. In other words, directly contradicting the commander-in-chief. She was soon relieved of her command, too.
I never wore the uniform, but my understanding is that the military structure relies upon a chain of command and following orders from those higher up than you. What does it say about our defense readiness that petty moves such as failing to post a photo, or undermining the administration in official email, even happen? And how deep does this rot go?
