The professor of Military Sciences at Eceme (Army Command and General Staff School), Sandro Teixeira Moita, pointed out during the WW that the United States is going through a moment of loss of military professionalism due to questionable decisions made by its leadership in the midst of the conflict with Iran.
According to Moita, the country that has always been a reference in civil-military relations for many other nations in the West is showing worrying signs of degeneration in this sector. A clear example of this situation was the American’s dismissal by Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, in the middle of war.
“The fact that we see the Chief of Staff of the American Army being fired by the Secretary of Defense shows a terrible loss of professionalism,” said Moita. The professor highlighted that this is not just an isolated dismissal, as the Secretary of Defense also asked for the resignation of other Army generals.
Another point highlighted by Moita was the choice of the new head of the joint General Staff, who did not come from the generals who were on active duty, but from an Air Force general who was in reserve and did not even have four stars. “That only came out after that,” the professor explained.
Ideological dispute and impact on international image
According to Moita, one of the reasons for the fall of the Chief of Staff of the American Army, General Henry George, was his opposition to the Secretary of Defense regarding the promotion of officers. According to the professor, the top four on the list for promotion to brigadier generals are two black colonels and two female colonels, but Hegseth has refused for months to promote them, claiming that this would give voice to an agenda associated with the Democratic Party.
The professor highlighted that this situation has caused clashes between the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army, Driscoll, who could become the new Secretary of Defense or be fired, depending on the performance in the war and the correlation of political forces in Washington.
Moita warned of the negative impact of this instability on the international image of the United States: “The fact that you have Iranian embassies around the world publishing an image of American generals with an X over them because they were fired is a very bad sign for the United States in the information battle in this war.”
