Trump Draft Executive Order Would Create Board to Purge Generals

[AZJonnie]

36. Welcome to DU!

I just ran your assertion by chatGPT to gauge how accurate it is. Here is the result, in case you're interested.

Me: Is it true that "Obama fired almost 200 military officers in in several years of his presidency"?

ChatGPT said: During President Obama’s two terms, there were indeed significant changes within the military's leadership, but the claim that he "fired almost 200 military officers" is misleading and often taken out of context.

Several factors contributed to the departure of senior officers during Obama's presidency:

Routine Retirements and Resignations: Many officers retired or resigned, as is typical in any administration. Senior military roles naturally rotate due to promotions, new appointments, and retirements.

Budget Cuts and Downsizing: Due to sequestration (automatic federal budget cuts) and post-Iraq and Afghanistan drawdowns, the military was reducing its overall size. This downsizing affected personnel at all levels, including senior officers.

Accountability and Misconduct: In some instances, officers were relieved of duty or removed due to personal or professional misconduct. This is not unusual and happens under every administration as part of maintaining military discipline and standards.

Policy Differences: While there were some disagreements between senior military officials and Obama’s administration on policies, including the pace of troop withdrawals, these differences did not generally result in direct firings. However, some officers chose to retire if they felt they could not fully support the administration's direction.

These changes in military leadership were influenced by a combination of routine rotations, budget constraints, disciplinary actions, and occasional policy disagreements, rather than a mass “firing” of officers.