In response to multiple audience questions about recent presidential executive orders involving the military, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told a crowd of nearly 200 on Wednesday that he remains focused on preparing the service for future conflict.
At a previously scheduled talk at the Association of the U.S. Army, the leading nonprofit support organization for the service, George spent most of his 45-minute time slot discussing changes the Army is making to its force design.
But near the end of the talk, audience questions centered on President Donald Trump’s various executive orders and on recent reports of actions taken involving retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Trump recently signed a flurry of executive orders focused on the military, one of which directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service. Hegseth started in the position Monday.
Other orders would roll back diversity programs, create a space-based missile defense system and reinstate troops who were booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines.
One audience member at George’s talk Wednesday asked the general if he had concerns about the orders.
“We are working through all of that stuff just like we normally do,” George said. “And I think you hear from this morning, we’re really focused and haven’t had any useful difference, really focused on transforming the Army.”
Col. Dave Butler, George’s spokesman, responded to Army Times in an email following the event, stating that the service is enacting and implementing all of Trump’s and Hegseth’s policy decisions.
“We are reviewing and responding to every order diligently and swiftly to ensure we meet the needs of our soldiers while effectively implementing the directives of our commander in chief,” Butler wrote. “Civilian control of the military is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Army will continue to move out and execute the orders given to us by the people elected to run this country.”
At the end of the talk, Eric Schmitt, national security correspondent for The New York Times, asked George for his personal thoughts on reports that Milley had his security clearance revoked and that officials had ordered an inspector general investigation into alleged misconduct by Milley while he was serving as chairman.
Following his retirement, Milley, who served as the top uniformed officer during Trump’s first term in office, has been a vocal critic of the president’s actions and demeanor.
Hegseth directed the inspector general to “conduct an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding Gen. Milley’s conduct so that the secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,” a Pentagon spokesman said late Tuesday.
In a separate statement, Defense Department Chief of Staff Joe Kasper stated that “undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership.”
Schmitt asked if any actions against Milley might have a “chilling effect” on military leaders such as George or others.
“I know we’re not going to chill making sure our formations are more lethal, continuing the things that we need to do to transform and make changes and be focused on doing that,” George said. “And I know that’s where the staff is at, is focused on that as well.”
Military Times reporter Leo Shane III contributed to this article.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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