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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPromotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump's Reaction
I looked and didnt see this posted on the first page of GD.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/politics/trump-biden-promotions-women-generals.html?referringSource=articleShare
WASHINGTON Last fall, the Pentagons most senior leaders agreed that two top generals should be promoted to elite, four-star commands.
For then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women. In 2020 America under President Trump, the two Pentagon leaders feared that any candidates other than white men for jobs mostly held by white men might run into turmoil once their nominations got to the White House.
Mr. Esper and General Milley worried that if they even raised their names Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army the Trump White House would replace them with its own candidates before leaving office.
So the Pentagon officials agreed on an unusual strategy: They held back their recommendations until after the November elections, betting that if Joseph R. Biden Jr. won, he and his aides would be more supportive of the Pentagon picks than Mr. Trump, who had feuded with Mr. Esper and has a history of disparaging women. They stuck to the plan even after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Esper six days after the election.
They were chosen because they were the best officers for the jobs, and I didnt want their promotions derailed because someone in the Trump White House saw that I recommended them or thought D.O.D. was playing politics, Mr. Esper said in an interview, referring to the Department of Defense. This was not the case. They were the best qualified. We were doing the right thing.
For then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women. In 2020 America under President Trump, the two Pentagon leaders feared that any candidates other than white men for jobs mostly held by white men might run into turmoil once their nominations got to the White House.
Mr. Esper and General Milley worried that if they even raised their names Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army the Trump White House would replace them with its own candidates before leaving office.
So the Pentagon officials agreed on an unusual strategy: They held back their recommendations until after the November elections, betting that if Joseph R. Biden Jr. won, he and his aides would be more supportive of the Pentagon picks than Mr. Trump, who had feuded with Mr. Esper and has a history of disparaging women. They stuck to the plan even after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Esper six days after the election.
They were chosen because they were the best officers for the jobs, and I didnt want their promotions derailed because someone in the Trump White House saw that I recommended them or thought D.O.D. was playing politics, Mr. Esper said in an interview, referring to the Department of Defense. This was not the case. They were the best qualified. We were doing the right thing.
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Promotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump's Reaction (Original Post)
SoonerPride
Feb 2021
OP
11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)1. Worst. President. Ever.
SoonerPride
(12,286 posts)2. More people need to say this every day.
rsdsharp
(9,182 posts)3. This story makes no sense. It says the promotions were held back until after the election.
However, it refers to Van Ovost as General, and in fact she received her fourth star in August of 2020.