Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed out the Army chief of staff back in the spring, reportedly because he refused to drop an investigation into a helicopter flyby at Kid Rock's house, and a former staffer to President Donald Trump said the episode raised alarming questions.
The Pentagon chief abruptly fired Gen. Randy George in April after the four-star general was told by his own second-in-command, Gen. Chris LaNeve, that Hegseth wanted the probe ended, and former White House communications director Mike Dubke said the rock star's proximity was irrelevant.
"I'm going to take a step backhere," Dubke said. "I think the whole tyingthis into Kid Rock is the wrongway to look at it. [This]is really the chilling of frankand honest speech within the Pentagon. We want that. I thinkthe downside of what we've seenhere and the real harm that Hegseth would be bringing withthis, is chilling of thatspeech."
"If you are a juniorgeneral who is rising up throughthe ranks," Dubke added, "and you see everyonethat's above you get tossedbecause they had the audacity oftelling civilian leadershipsomething they didn't want tohear, what is that going to doto you that is going to make youprobably shut your mouth alittle bit more and not give thehonest assessment that we need,that the civilian leadershipneeds, that the administrationneeds to hear. That is what'sworrying to me."
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is also on the way out, Dubke said, and he pinned the blame on Hegseth's paranoia.
"If Driscoll is out, andthe reports are that he and Hegseth butt heads, and he may,you know, the scuttlebutt in Washington was he was theobvious choice to replace Hegseth," Dubke said. "I'm sure Hegseth ispurging him. These are thethings that disturb me because Iwant civilian leadership over anhonest military that will tellthe civilian leadership thingsthey don't want to hear. Theydon't have to do it, but theyshould hear it."