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From: Army Times
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is resigning, a senior defense official confirmed on Monday.
Hagel has submitted his letter of resignation to President Obama on Monday morning but has vowed to stay in the job until the Senate confirms his replacement, the official said. It was not immediately known who the nominee would be.
Obama and Hagel made the "mutual decision" that now was the time for Hagel to step down, the official said.
A ceremony at the White House was expected later Monday for the formal announcement of Hagel's departure.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2014/11/24/hagel-resigns-112414/19478351/
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is resigning, a senior defense official confirmed on Monday.
Hagel has submitted his letter of resignation to President Obama on Monday morning but has vowed to stay in the job until the Senate confirms his replacement, the official said. It was not immediately known who the nominee would be.
Obama and Hagel made the "mutual decision" that now was the time for Hagel to step down, the official said.
A ceremony at the White House was expected later Monday for the formal announcement of Hagel's departure.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2014/11/24/hagel-resigns-112414/19478351/
Posted in these groups: 
Defense
Defense
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 33
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Very interested in the "reason" for his exit. Have seen nothing huge that would lead to him leaving unless he is just tired of getting no support.
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SGT Steve Vincent
Nothing huge? What exactly would you call coming out and saying that ISIS is something we have never seen before, and that they pose a serious threat, shortly after Obama came out and called them the JV?? That was sarcasm, and agree with you that this is fishy, to say the absolute least.
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SMSgt (Join to see)
Sir I was thinking huge in terms of mismanaging his responsibilities. He was dealt a bad hand by Congress and is the early scape goat for our boss.
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I am curious as to the potential nominees to succeed Hagel. Will there be some reach back? Will it just be a crony with no real idea what is going on?
Colin Powell on line 4 Mr. President...
Colin Powell on line 4 Mr. President...
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SFC (Join to see)
TSgt Joshua Copeland , POTUS is willing to reach across, but will he do it again? SFC William Swartz Jr I think you may be right about finding someone willing to go along with the current administration. SSG John Erny , Hagel is on his way back to 'Husker land. Sorry.
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TSgt Joshua Copeland
SFC (Join to see), as a lame duck with an incoming republican congress, he could to leverage buy-in later.
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SFC (Join to see)
TSgt Joshua Copeland that is a very good and valid point. Negotiating leverage for something else in the future will likely be a consideration for POTUS when nominating his successor.
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Too bad so sad. I guess it is good to know when you are in over your head but the problem is who would take this job that would do a better job?
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MSG Brad Sand
SPC Jeff Daley, PhD
I do not disagree with anything you said, and I think the POTUS rejecting the advice of those he placed in the position is a MAJOR problem...of course the President is able to draw on his own experience...experience as a...as a Community Organizer?
I do not disagree with anything you said, and I think the POTUS rejecting the advice of those he placed in the position is a MAJOR problem...of course the President is able to draw on his own experience...experience as a...as a Community Organizer?
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MSG Brad Sand
SPC Jeff Daley, PhD
LOL. I had not heard that either, but I also would not be surprised? Maybe another Frank Burns (egg) shell fragment that needed to be removed?
LOL. I had not heard that either, but I also would not be surprised? Maybe another Frank Burns (egg) shell fragment that needed to be removed?
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SSG Everett Wilson
caught me by surprise, usually there are hints that cabinet members would be stepping down
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I see Congress holding up the nomination for as long as possible to try to keep Hagel on the job. Obviously the next nominee will be a crony. Hagel has done everything in his power to help troops and has been stymied from both sides (the White House and the top generals), no wonder he wants to step down.
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1SG (Join to see)
SFC Mark Merino LOL.... Not running for SecDef, that's for sure. I always wanted to the Presidential Press Secretary standing in front of the media. There are many times I wish I could have been one standing up there to answer some of the dumb ass questions that would come from the Press Pool! I know I could make David Letterman's "Top 10 replies" on many ocassions! Tony Snow (Press Secretary for President Bush) was the best ever!
Pluss, I don't think I would fit in with the current Administration's agenda...I'm an Independent Conservative and I tend to speak my opinion rather than what you might want to hear!
Pluss, I don't think I would fit in with the current Administration's agenda...I'm an Independent Conservative and I tend to speak my opinion rather than what you might want to hear!
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MSG(P) (Join to see)
Sir, you may be in a place where you could see his impact but for the troop on the ground all I saw was the same old thing. Rather than crop the excess from the top, they cut costs at the expense of the soldier. Saving pennies at the cost of dollars. Barring that, what I see is an incredible waste of time and resources developing stricter standards when we already have standards that aren't being maintained or enforced. All of which would cut out the undesirables. I see a SMA that believes we need to eviscerate our traditions in order to present some sort of corporate professionalism. We have so many problems that we are attempting to fix by bandaging the symptom rather than treating the cause. In my humble opinion I didn't see anything that made him relevant at any level. But as stated above, my vision of the strategic level is severely limited.
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I was wondering when these great journalist would weigh-in. http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/11/review-finds-hagel-actually-still-army-specialist/?utm_content=buffer1419c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Admin Review Finds Defense Secretary Hagel Actually Still Army Specialist
Hagel, 68, has already been nicknamed "the grand old Specialist of the Army."
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MSG (Join to see)
i would like if he told us why.. i dont always see eye to eye with his policy, but he was overall great for the Army. maybe it is something he did, maybe it is something he didnt do. maybe it is some type of political move. i dont personally care. what i do care about is that one of the better SecArmy that we've had is going away. hopefully we can get someone as good as him are at least close.
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SGT James Hastings
Just a thought, but once you are at that level and leave you still have to live and work in this country. We have our flaws but I still prefer to live here in spite of the government's difficulties in making things work. So, I doubt that Hagel will ever really say what happened, even if he knows.
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"Mr. Hagel, a respected former senator who struck a friendship with Mr. Obama when they were both critics of the Iraq war from positions on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has nonetheless had trouble penetrating the tight team of former campaign aides and advisers who form Mr. Obama’s closely knit set of loyalists."
This line from the NY Times article stood out the most to me and I dislike it. It gives me a bad impression of what's going on in the administration; it creates an impression of cronyism.
This line from the NY Times article stood out the most to me and I dislike it. It gives me a bad impression of what's going on in the administration; it creates an impression of cronyism.
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MSgt (Join to see)
" No, Hagel's alienation, the tension between him and the White House, and the military leadership's burgeoning frustration with the false starts, half-measures, and micromanagement that have marked the administration's Iraq and Syria campaigns are signs of much deeper problems that lie within the way the president himself operates and, from a process perspective, from the way that his National Security Council (NSC) operates.
At a moment when most second-term presidents have long since bid adieu to their campaign staffers and have focused on governing, Obama is drawing his closer, providing him more of a security blanket than an effective national security team. Susan Rice, his national security advisor, was passenger No. 1 on the Obama campaign's national security team, leading its efforts and working closely throughout with Denis McDonough, now Obama's chief of staff. They have fostered throughout Obama's time in office an "us vs. them" environment with their own colleagues in the administration, beginning but hardly ending with the remnants of the Hillary Clinton for President team. They have stayed tactical as campaign teams do, viewing many of the international options they have considered primarily through a domestic political lens, and thus have been at the heart of the errors that have plagued the Obama team -- from divisions between the White House and Defense or State, to the play fake on attacking Syria last year, to mishandling the NSA scandal, to the underwhelming response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Crimea, and to the current situation in Iraq. "
That's from Foreign Policy magazine, saying the same thing.
Ar article from National Journal points to potential micromanagement on the part of the President's aides.
At a moment when most second-term presidents have long since bid adieu to their campaign staffers and have focused on governing, Obama is drawing his closer, providing him more of a security blanket than an effective national security team. Susan Rice, his national security advisor, was passenger No. 1 on the Obama campaign's national security team, leading its efforts and working closely throughout with Denis McDonough, now Obama's chief of staff. They have fostered throughout Obama's time in office an "us vs. them" environment with their own colleagues in the administration, beginning but hardly ending with the remnants of the Hillary Clinton for President team. They have stayed tactical as campaign teams do, viewing many of the international options they have considered primarily through a domestic political lens, and thus have been at the heart of the errors that have plagued the Obama team -- from divisions between the White House and Defense or State, to the play fake on attacking Syria last year, to mishandling the NSA scandal, to the underwhelming response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Crimea, and to the current situation in Iraq. "
That's from Foreign Policy magazine, saying the same thing.
Ar article from National Journal points to potential micromanagement on the part of the President's aides.
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If anyone watched Secretary Hagel's confirmation hearings, he gave confused, sometimes contradictory answers, even to softball questions. He appeared completely unprepared to take on a position of such importance.
I thought at the time that the President just wanted someone who would see it his way and not push back on some of the changes the administrated wanted. Both Pinetta and Gates made clear after leaving the position that they did not agree, and that played a role in their resignations.
Secretary Hagel sure looks like he is being scapegoated for policy disasters that played a part in a poor election showing for the President's party.
I thought at the time that the President just wanted someone who would see it his way and not push back on some of the changes the administrated wanted. Both Pinetta and Gates made clear after leaving the position that they did not agree, and that played a role in their resignations.
Secretary Hagel sure looks like he is being scapegoated for policy disasters that played a part in a poor election showing for the President's party.
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1SG Michael Blount
SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas - I'd give being SecDef a shot. It would certainly help bridge the gap between what DoD policy pronouncements and what actually happens on the ground.
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1SG Michael Blount
SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas - Seriously, I think military service should be an unstated requirement for SecDef. The most effective advocates are those who have "been there". I've been shot at, IED'd and engaged in more COIN operations than the last 4 SecDefs combined. If I could only get some traction on this campaign, I'd give it a serious shot.
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1SG Michael Blount
SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas - I don't have the connections to even get considered. POTUS doesn't know me from a bucket of ****
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SSG Tim Everett
Sounds like it's time for a White House Petition and a change.org petition to get 1SG Michael Blount selected as the next SecDef.
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