In Another disloyal officer is fired, I told the story of Col. Susan Meyers, former commander of our Pitiffik Space Force Base in Greenland. Following a visit by Vice President Vance, she told everyone under her command “the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base,” a clear violation of Article 88 of the UCMJ:

888. ARTICLE 88. Contempt toward Officials

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Meyers was relieved of command. I also noted the similar violation of Admiral Shoshanna Chatfield, our former NATO Commander, who refused to post photos of President Trump, Vice President Vance and SecDef Hegseth, while also informing her command she would disobey their lawful orders: “we will wait them out for four years.” Hatfield was also relieved of command.

In that article I noted this kind of blatant violation of civilian control of our military is rife in the armed forces, and despite those and other recent examples, some officers apparently still believe they’re in charge, not the POTUS, and their insubordination will go unpunished. A garrison commander in Wisconsin recently discovered how wrong she was:

A garrison commander at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin has been suspended following an incident where photos of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were missing from the base’s chain-of-command board.

This marked yet another instance of apparent insubordination within military ranks.

The controversy began when social media posts circulated showing empty black frames where the photos of the three top officials should have been displayed. 

This prompted immediate backlash online and triggered a Department of Defense investigation into the matter. 

Task & Purpose reported that the images quickly spread across various platforms, drawing attention to what some critics have called a sign of resistance within military leadership.

While speculation has swirled that Ramirez deliberately omitted the photos, military officials have not confirmed this theory. 

DOD Rapid Response responded rapidly:

Graphic: X Screenshot

The fort’s commander released a statement saying Ramirez is suspended, not relieved of command, and an investigation is ongoing. He also added: “This suspension is not related to any misconduct.” There was also what appears to be substantial ass covering:

The Army Reserves initially claimed on April 14 that the leadership board had been vandalized, stating: “The Fort McCoy leadership team and the Army Reserve were unaware of the vandalism of the leadership board at a building at Fort McCoy, WI.”

“Once it was brought to their attention, the leadership at Fort McCoy took immediate action to correct it.” However, the subsequent suspension of Ramirez has raised questions about the accuracy of this initial assessment.

And so it should. While it’s possible someone “vandalized” the required chain of command display if military personnel they too would be guilty of violating the UCMJ. Such displays are not hidden in closets or outbuildings far from headquarters. Ramirez is responsible for every facet of her command, and it strains belief to imagine she, or those under her command, could have been unaware for more than minutes of any such “vandalism,” thus the investigation and her suspension.

Defense Secretary Hegseth appears to be taking a firm stance on discipline within the ranks. 

Graphic: X Screenshot

The Daily Mail highlighted that he recently retweeted a Breitbart story about Ramirez’s suspension that read: “Commander of Fort McCoy, whose base chain-of-command board was missing photos of Trump, Vance and Hegseth, has been SUSPENDED.” 

Perhaps Ramirez is guilty of nothing, and an investigation should quickly determine that. It’s also possible this is only a final straw example of an officer who has come to believe in DEI and wokeness over her sworn duties under the UCMJ and Constitution. There appear to be a great many of those remaining in uniform, and SecDef Hegseth and his team appear to be working hard to remove them and replace them with loyal personnel.

Much is being made of the recent removal of Pentagon aides who have been claiming the Pentagon and military are in a state of, as the current Democrat narrative demands, “chaos.” That’s possible, but what’s more likely is we’re seeing the flak targeting a bomber directly over its target. Hegseth is successfully returning the military to a force dedicated to deterring and killing America’s enemies rather than a runaway social justice lab experiment. Those who have benefitted from that experiment aren’t going quietly.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.