Pentagon revolts against Trump's 'plan to change military leadership'

The U.S. Department of Defense has pushed back against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, who was nominated for Trump's second secretary of defense, for signaling some "military leadership changes," saying they would "burden the system."

"If there are not enough people in a position or fewer people to share the work, it will of course put a strain on the system," said Sabrina Singh, a deputy defence spokeswoman, without directly commenting on the policy.

"If you look back on when the general and admirals were put on hold, officers were prevented from being promoted, and personnel were not deployed, others did two or three jobs," he said, adding, "This will affect the operation of the organization and military morale and affect the ministry."

"There are people in the Ministry of National Defense who have devoted themselves to public service, whether they are uniformed officials, and they are focusing on their duties," he said.

Earlier, when he was a presidential candidate, Trump pledged to fire General Walker, saying there were "fighting generals" and "walk generals" in the U.S. military.

'Work' is a critical term used to mean 'an act that forces progressive values and identity'.

"First and foremost, we must fire Chairman Charles Brown," Hegseth said, insisting that all generals involved in diversity, equity and inclusion programs or work should be fired.

Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is black, was nominated for the Air Force chief during Trump's first administration, but he was criticized by conservatives for releasing a video in 2020 in which he enthusiastically expressed his stance on racism in the military and others after George Floyd, a black man, was killed in an excessive crackdown by white police and protests erupted across the United States.