The secretary of defense has called an unusual meeting of all the generals and admirals from all of the US armed forces. So far no reason has been given, but let’s consider a hypothetical that in some way or another the generals and admirals that don’t swear personal loyalty to our current commander in chief get fired right there on the spot, or that for whatever other reason this meeting leads to a purge of some kind. Are there mechanisms for a subsequent commander in chief to rehire the fired generals and admirals, or would the next commander in chief have to “start fresh” by purging the old guard and promoting the colonels and captains that they deemed best suited for the job?
‘Fring’ an officer from a role does not mean that they are discharged from service or stripped of commission (which would typically require a general court-martial), just that they are removed from that role and put into the ‘general pool’ of officers without billet. In some cases, this could result in mandatory retirement if they are above the normal mandatory age or years-in-service outside of that role, in which case their commissions could not be reactivated without extraordinary executive action.
Stranger
Would that pretty much apply automatically to anyone at the level of general or admiral? I don’t imagine many are very young.
The Hegseth meeting includes one star officers. It’s possible to reach that rank by one’s early 40s.
Fun fact: a US military officer can be recalled at any time, at any age, for any military necessity. They can retire, but the only way out permanently is if they resign their commission after their initial service commitment and the service permits it. Furthermore, as long as they are retired they are subject to the UCMJ at all times.
That status very rarely results in any action, be it criminal proceedings or involuntary recall, but the government retains those options in perpetuity.
Higher ranking generals have their rank tied to their position. If they are removed from their position they will revert to a lower rank. If removed it would behoove the officer to retire and collect their pension. If they refuse to retire the president can force them to leave. It’s a bit more complicated than that but I would guess anything that happens currently would be made very simple with a “get out” and let the courts clear up any issues. This article goes over a lot of the issues.
And yes as was said above a flag officer is never truly retired they are just inactive. They can be recalled when needed.
From that cite:
That said, the incentives are such – not to mention professional propriety – that it’s extraordinarily unlikely that any President in the modern era would be obliged to force officers out, as almost all would retire if asked.
Written during Obama’s presidency. Wonder whether that attitude has changed.
So is there a time limit at which they can collect a pension at their higher rank before they become lower rank? How does that work?
Google tells me the salary difference between 2 and 4 stars is about $200K to $220K.