Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley undermined his position and the U.S. military by his partisan engagement with the media. Milley should have resigned. The performance of former U.S. Central Command commanding officer Gen. Kenneth McKenzie was similarly poor. Responsible for supervising the disastrous August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, McKenzie then defended absurd Biden administration talking points rather than offer honest military assessments.

This speaks to a broader problem in the U.S. military’s general officer ranks, namely a penchant for putting patronage, ego, and politics before nonpartisan skill in command. That said, the ongoing removal of portraits at the Pentagon, almost certainly at President Donald Trump’s behest, is becoming problematic.