Readers Write: Pentagon firings, veterans affairs

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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As a military service member with over 30 years of total service in the Marine Corps and U.S. Army, I must express my alarm over the wisdom of the recent firing of the judge advocates general in the Army, Navy and Air Force. For 26 years as a judge advocate general officer, I saw firsthand the critical role JAG officers play in our armed forces. They provide the combatant commanders with reasoned legal advice regarding the laws of war, United States international treaties and diplomatic documents, as well as civil, fiscal and administrative law. The operative word is “advice,” the final decision rests with the combatant commander. In addition, JAG officers provide legal assistance to individual service members.

The firing of these leaders has the potential to send a chilling warning to our JAG corps officers regarding their ability to provide legal advice that enables successful military operations that comply with the rule of law in both peace and war.

John Kingrey, St. Paul

The writer is former executive director of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.

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Let me get this straight: A television presenter, author and Army National Guard officer who was forced out of two leadership roles at veteran-focused organizations for mismanagement fires a surface warfare officer, four-star admiral and chief of naval operations because she was not up to his standards? (“Trump fires chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff; Hegseth fires the chief of naval operations,” Feb. 22.)

Liz Knutson, Minneapolis

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Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump have replaced DEI with HUI: hugely unqualified and inexperienced. They just fired an African American general and woman admiral who both served our country 40 years and held rank, commands, awards and combat experience that would qualify them way beyond Hegseth’s experience being nominated secretary of defense. Hegseth’s inexperience is evident in his nomination being a 50/50 tie decided by the vice president’s vote. All previous secretary of defense nominees in recent times have had experience like that of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, and the Senate votes were more like 98-2.

Hegseth is like Gilda Radner’s character on Saturday Night Live, Emily Litella. When the anchor chimed in that she was way off base with her commentary she would respond “Oh, that’s very different — never mind.” Shouldn’t Hegseth be submitting his resignation letter so he can be replaced with a candidate with more merit?

Dale Peterson, Minneapolis

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I am appalled by President Trump’s firing of Gen. Brown and Hegseth’s firing of Adm. Franchetti. Terminating them is blatant prejudice based on race and gender. Gen. Brown is a four-star fighter pilot who happens to be Black. Adm. Franchetti was the leader of the navy who happens to be a woman. Replacing either of them with white men makes me sick to my stomach. In a corporate situation, the firing of a competent Black man or woman because they are “diverse” or “inclusive” or happen to be following the previous administration’s goals of diversity, equity and inclusion is grounds for a lawsuit. The person who let them go should be fired and the wronged people reinstated. Trump and Hegseth are out of line.

Alice O’Hara, Minneapolis

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On Friday night, after most time-clock punchers had signed off, Trump fired a Black man and Hegseth fired a woman from the Joint Chiefs of Staff that is the president’s Cabinet-level link to the U.S. branches of the military. These people have worked and led their way through the ranks of the military to the highest rank of general or admiral that is available to them. At each level they had to prove time in service, level of education, and stand before a panel of their peers to prove their fitness to lead. After that they had to stand before a Senate committee and endure questions from qualified and unqualified members of Congress seeking final approval.

Trump has declared that diversity, equity and inclusion will no longer be part of the decision process for advancement in the military. In normal times, this would be presented to Congress as new legislation, and after debate and approval the law would be enforced going forward in time. Trump has decided he can enforce an edict without basis forward and backward in time. The fact that these individuals were either Black or women meant they violated Trump’s new personal reality.

Even my fifth grade grandson could tell this is wrong. It is illegal, unconstitutional, immoral, ugly and outside normal human behavior.

Or just another day in Trump World.

Larry Kiewel, St. Peter, Minn.

I get my health care from the VA and can unequivocally say it is the best health care system in America. Well, I better qualify that statement and say it was. Lack of resources is having its intended effect and the system is being degraded. Veterans Affairs is under attack and this attack is cleverly couched in language suggesting it is being done for the benefit of veterans. Community care is a good example. It’s a necessity for those veterans not living near a VA facility. However, more funds are unnecessarily being diverted from the VA into the private sector. When more veterans receive inadequate care, fingers will be pointed and statements issued saying, “There, see? The VA isn’t working.”

I live four miles from the Minneapolis VA, yet I’m sometimes sent to a private medical facility. Why? Well, I guess there’s money to be made and what good are veterans, anyway, if you can’t make money off them? It’s the new American way: The rich must keep getting richer. The recent federal hiring freeze is a good example. While the freeze does exempt VA medical staff, it does not exempt support staff such as janitors, housekeeping, maintenance and kitchen workers. Sneaky. The administration can say it is supporting veterans while still undermining the whole system. It may take months, but eventually you will be hearing some report outlining the decaying facilities within the VA and how it is a disservice to veterans.

Gary Jenneke, St. Paul

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Do not privatize the VA. Healing comes in different forms. There is both a physical and mental aspect to healing. Having vets come together at the vet center promotes both. The camaraderie of other vets and the special care from health care workers who understand vets create a healing environment that cannot be found elsewhere in the community. Our veterans deserve this. Do not take it away.

Fredrick Butler, Rosemount

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I don’t think anyone would dispute that there is a lot of “fat” to be cut from every federal agency. Some might say that Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency has overdone it and cut some bone besides the “fat.” To see disabled veterans who were hired for various positions getting eliminated seems a little callous (“Thousands fired in messy rush,” front page, Feb. 19).

Of course, neither Trump nor Musk have ever served in the military, and they have little respect for veterans. I can just see Musk cutting many disability benefits for veterans, claiming they are wasteful. People might not realize that Musk receives at least $8 million per day from the federal government from government contracts. One of the inspectors general who was investigating one of Musk’s companies, Neuralink, was fired. Who is checking the massive amount of money that Musk is getting? There definitely has to be lots of “fat” in that much money. Needless to say, DOGE will not check. There’s no doubt a conflict of interest involved. Where is the transparency?There must be some independent agency that checks this out. Trump is not a king nor is Musk above the law.

John M. Schwanke, Cumberland, Wis.