MS NOW investigation reveals Hegseth forced out military officers who questioned his command decisions

On July 23, 2026, MS NOW published an investigation in which three former military officers said they were pushed out of their jobs and forced to retire early after questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's command decisions. The officers spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear that the Pentagon would retaliate against them and attempt to strip their retirement pensions if identified. MS NOW agreed not to publish the details of their careers, last assignments, or the specifics of their firings in order to protect their identities.

The investigation found that the officers' removals continued a documented pattern of Hegseth forcing out senior military leaders over the preceding year and a half. In a May 2025 memo, Hegseth directed Pentagon leadership to slash the number of flag and general officers across the services, publicly framing the goal as streamlining leadership. The most recently named departure described in the investigation was Gen. Christopher Donahue — commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and the last U.S. service member to leave Afghanistan in 2021 — who relinquished command on July 2, 2026, in an abrupt exit widely seen as a forced departure linked to Hegseth's criticism of the Afghanistan withdrawal. According to MS NOW, Hegseth has forced out more than two dozen senior military officers in total, and has reportedly blocked the promotions of dozens more.

Two officers publicly identified in prior reporting are Nancy Lacore, who subsequently ran for Congress in South Carolina, and Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wrote about his experience in Foreign Affairs. The three officers who spoke to MS NOW declined to be identified not only out of fear for their pensions but because they believed military officers should remain apolitical and outside the public debate. One officer told MS NOW that Hegseth "is intimidated by people who have real warfighting background" and "just can't stand people around who will call him on his bullshit." Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez denied the characterization, stating: "Not a single general officer or flag officer has been fired raising concerns about any issue. That charge is completely false."