According to the Army, a retired three-star general has been suspended from a $92 an hour contract and is under investigation after posting a joke on a social issue.
Gary Volesky, the Army's former top spokesman and recipient of the Silver Star for bravery in Iraq, was a mentor to senior military officers, staff and students.
For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make their own decisions about their bodies. That right was taken away today.
Volesky said he was glad to see that he knew what a woman was.
An official on the payroll of the Pentagon is supposed to steer clear of partisan politics and his response was a violation of decorum for a retired military officer.
Volesky did not reply. Michael LaRosa was a spokesman for the Bidens.
Volesky has posted a political message before. He responded to a message from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who said she was honored to be on the committee. Our oath to the constitution has to be above politics.
Volesky said that the investigation was all about partisan politics.
According to the Pentagon's description of the program, Volesky was hired as an expert with the experience and skills to bring Enlightenment Thinking to the military. He was paid over fifty thousand dollars for his work from November 2020 to August 2021.
Senior uniformed officers are careful not to appear involved in politics and civilian control of the military is important to American government. It has been stressed out.
After the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Gen. Mark Milley sent a memo to troops reminding them of their oath. Milley apologized for appearing with Donald Trump after peaceful protesters were removed from Lafayette Square so the president could take a photo.
Recent retired senior officers taking political stands are different from Volesky's. John Allen was a retired Marine general. Flynn was fired as Trump's national security adviser for lying to federal investigators and has become a partisan figure.
Several retired top officers, including Adm. William McRaven, who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, criticized President Donald Trump. McRaven accused Trump of trying to undermine every major institution in the country.
Andrew Bacevich is a professor of history at Boston University and a retired army colonel.
He or any other retired senior officer would undermine the military's reputation for being above politics just to score some cheap partisan points on social media.
Peter Feaver is a political science professor at Duke University and an expert in civilian-military relations.
Feaver said that retired military have the right to express their opinions, but that doesn't mean it's right. The more senior the retired military, the worse it can be.
He said retired senior officers can make useful contributions when they weigh in on policy matters.
"But when they stray from areas of core competency to offer shrill partisan jibes, they violate the norm of their profession and make the jobs of current senior military leaders that much more difficult."
Volesky was a star in the Army and rose to the top of the service. His bravery in leading a rescue mission in Iraq in 2004, in which he led an armored column under fire, was the key to his rise.
He led the Army's office of public affairs. He took command of the 101st Airborne Division in response to the outbreak of the disease in Africa.
Volesky was in charge of the Army's response to the deadly disease.
The commander of the I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord was Volesky. He oversaw tens of thousands of soldiers, including bases in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
Volesky joined the Army on a contract basis as a senior mentor.
The senior mentor program had flourished at the Pentagon with little scrutiny until a USA TODAY investigation in 2009 showed that the majority of the retired generals and admirals under contract also worked for defense contractors.
The Pentagon was mandated by Congress to establish rules for the mentor program. The Pentagon had 355 senior mentors in 2010. There were three in the year after the pay cap and conflict-of-interest safeguards went into effect.
The Pentagon has exclusive authority in the federal government to hire retired senior officers like Volesky. According to the Pentagon's description of the program, they possess "uncommon, special knowledge, skills, and experience in an occupational field." They are hired to bring innovative thinking.
Feaver said that senior mentors are held to a higher standard. They're necessary to teach active-duty officers how to serve in a politically divided time.
He said that they were hired for their character and professional standards.
The active-duty leaders Volesky had counseled as a senior mentor may find it harder to do their jobs now that Volesky has taken to social media. She said that Volesky had a right to free expression as a civilian, but his status as a retired senior officer made him a target in the public eye.
She said that the public respects the military less than it used to.
The Army is in a bind as a result of the tweets.
She said that it was unseemly to have someone so involved in political commentary. It is difficult for the Army to dismiss him for exercising political speech. He's an American citizen and he's free to express his views.
Volesky's reply to Biden was an apparent reference to legal questions about gender identity. During Jackson's confirmation hearing, she was pressed about it.
Is there a definition for the word woman? There are legal questions about the rights of trans people.
I cannot. Jackson said that it was not in this context. I am not a Biologist.
You can't give me a definition for the word "woman", it's unclear and controversial. "That's right."
Feaver advised military leaders to make political commentary.
Don't do it if it feels great.
The retired general was suspended from his contract by the Army due to his comments about the Bidens.
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