The Stanley purge
I’m hearing that the new Pentagon under secretary of Defense for personnel, Clifford Stanley, is defenestrating people left and right. Latest to get the heave, yesterday, was Noel Koch, the guy who was running the Wounded Warrior program. Anyone wanna shed some light on what is going on? The rest of you, remember Pentagon politics ...
I'm hearing that the new Pentagon under secretary of Defense for personnel, Clifford Stanley, is defenestrating people left and right. Latest to get the heave, yesterday, was Noel Koch, the guy who was running the Wounded Warrior program.
I’m hearing that the new Pentagon under secretary of Defense for personnel, Clifford Stanley, is defenestrating people left and right. Latest to get the heave, yesterday, was Noel Koch, the guy who was running the Wounded Warrior program.
Anyone wanna shed some light on what is going on?
The rest of you, remember Pentagon politics rule one: Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics, and people who understand where power resides talk personnel policy. For example, if in the 1980s you wanted to get the services to send better people to joint billets, you’d make "joint time" a prerequisite for promotion to flag rank.
5:30 UPDATE: I asked for more info, so Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell called to offer his explanation. It looks like the purges are going to continue in the Pentagon personnel office. Defense Secretary Gates believes that office is in "desperate need of a wholesale reorganization," Morrell said, and has given Stanley "wide authority to revamp it from top to bottom."
Morrell added, "There probably will be more changes in the offing."
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
More from Foreign Policy

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy
The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now
In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet
As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.