Hegseth's stunning ouster 'ricochets' through Pentagon and hits Army 'especially hard'

The purge of top U.S. military officials reached a new plateau this week with the nomination of Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve to replace Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus, according to reporting today at Politico.

The choice of LaNeve sent a message, according to the report.

"[Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth’s latest move — to place his senior military aide in a top Army post — represents one of his most assertive steps yet in determining who shapes the future of the Pentagon. President Donald Trump this week nominated Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve to replace Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus, even before the four-star general’s departure was announced, turning a service that has remained largely immune from leadership purges into the epicenter of them."

Politico noted that, "the effort differs from Hegseth’s other high-profile dismissals in that he has chosen the replacement, aiming to substitute a widely respected leader not even two years into his job with a lesser experienced candidate who would need a promotion to take on the role.

"Hegseth wants his guy in,” a defense official said. “Who he replaces doesn’t matter.”

Politico noted that Hegseht's potential replacement "ricocheted through the Pentagon," and "hit especially hard in the Army."

The removal of Mingus is just the latest in a whirlwind of moves that support the notion that purges are underway on Hegseth's watch.

"The nomination and replacement come less than a week after Adm. Alvin Holsey, the Navy admiral who is overseeing military operations against alleged drug boats off Venezuela, announced a surprise, early retirement in December," wrote Defense News.

"About a month ago, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, head of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, also suddenly announced his retirement, citing 'personal and family reasons.' That came a little over a month after the head of the Air Force, Gen. David Alvin, also announced a surprise early retirement.

"Those retirements come after a spate of unexplained firings in August that included Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, then the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency; Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve; and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversaw Naval Special Warfare Command.

"In April, Hegseth also abruptly fired Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who was leading the National Security Agency and an admiral who held a top NATO post."