Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told lawmakers that he was on vacation in North Carolina with his family earlier this month when he learned that Gen. Randy George had been sacked as Army chief of staff.
He drove directly to Gen. George’s home upon his return to Washington, Mr. Driscoll said Thursday during a House Appropriations Defense subcommittee hearing.
“We walked right in and we all gave him a hug,” he said. “There is no person who has more respect for Gen. George and his 42 years of service. He was an amazing, transformational leader.”
Rep. Ed Case, Hawaii Democrat, accused the Trump administration of cruelty in the abrupt way Gen. George was told to step down and submit his retirement papers, denying him a graceful exit after more than four decades in uniform.
“You at least owe Congress, the public, and I think most importantly the soldiers, some explanation,” he said. “You created and compounded numerous issues, including morale, uncertainty and distrust.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hasn’t explained the reasoning behind the removal of Gen. George or those of other high-ranking Army officers, including Gen. David Hodne, the head of Army Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the Army’s senior chaplain.
Mr. Driscoll confirmed he wasn’t aware of the plan to remove Gen. George from the Pentagon, but stopped short of criticizing Mr. Hegseth or other civilian leaders in the Defense Department.
“The civilian leadership – the design of our system – is that they get to pick the leaders that they want and we execute on those orders,” he said.
The praise for Gen. George was bipartisan, with House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole calling him “a great patriot.”
“I personally regret, at least, that he’s no longer in active service,” said Mr. Cole, an Oklahoma Republican whose district includes the Army’s artillery center at Fort Sill. “He’s a real loss to us, in my opinion.”
Even while praising Gen. George to the members of the subcommittee, Mr. Driscoll noted the distinguished military service of the replacement who was sitting next to him at the table, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting Army Chief of Staff.
“He served 35 years and had led a lot of our most important formations.” Mr. Driscoll said. “What is so amazing about the United States Army [is that it] goes rolling along. We have amazing leaders all over the world who can step in at a moment’s notice and keep fighting for our army.”
