Analyst's note: We are about to experience an unheard of mass exodus of the senior military officers from the "E" Ring of the Pentagon with the upcoming retirements of the Secretary of Defense and four of the six uniformed members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In addition to the retirement of SecDef Robert Gates, we will also soon see the departure of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations. And all this during a time of war ... almost unbelievable.
One has to wonder what is the cause behind these departures? My guess is that they would prefer to fight in a war other than the upcoming political struggles that are coming. "Except for Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz, whose term is up in 2012, Obama will soon have his own hand-picked team at the Pentagon." Replacements are already being discussed.
"[....]This kind of mass exodus of military brass is "virtually unheard of," said John Ullyot, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's very rare to have so many service chiefs up" all at once, he said.
"Even in peacetime this would be a lot of turnover, a lot of change for the biggest part of the discretionary budget. But in wartime it's even more complicated and needs to be done with great care to ensure that there's a smooth transition," Ullyot said.
The changes in command come as President Barack Obama faces major decision points in the Afghanistan war and prepares to joust with a new, more adversarial Congress over defense spending and his intention to lift the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays.
"This is where the president makes a lasting impact upon defense policy," said retired Army Col. and military analyst Kenneth Allard, referring to the Joint Chiefs.
Among the tasks they will carry out, "priorities clearly must respect the need for a leaner, meaner DOD, including the next wave of procurement reform" and winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Allard added.[....]"
