Aug 29, 2026 13:16 pm IST

Opinion | China To Pak To America, The Growing Dilemmas Of The 'General'

Recent civil military turmoil in the United States, China and Pakistan can be understood through two lenses.

Brig (Retd) Anil Raman Brig (Retd) Anil Raman Columnist

Brig (Retd) Anil Raman Columnist

Pete Hegseth's removal of General Randy George as US Army Chief of Staff appears to have begun with an unauthorised helicopter flypast over the musician Kid Rock's home in Tennessee. George wanted the Army to investigate possible safety violations. Hegseth ordered the matter dropped and George was removed soon afterwards. The episode is part of a wider turmoil in the Army's senior leadership. Notably the number of serving four-star generals has fallen in the middle of a war.

Civil military relations theoretician Samuel Huntington's Objective Civilian Control model, that the United States has adopted, proposes firm political dominance but with military leadership's autonomy in military expertise. Political leaders decide national objectives; the military advises and executes lawful policy. The arrangement works best when professional alignment refrains from seeking personal or political loyalty.

Recent civil military turmoil in the United States, China and Pakistan can be understood through two lenses. First, political alignment, which requires the military to achieve the objectives set by legitimate authority.Second,operational effectiveness, which requires it to retain the leadership, experience and institutional confidence needed to fight. Trouble begins when tighter control erodes effectiveness, or when effectiveness is pursued through arrangements that upset the political balance itself.

The War On 'Political Correctness' In America

The second Trump administration is attempting a substantial transformation of American military culture. Hegseth has promoted a warrior ethos and greater emphasis on combat effectiveness. Simultaneously, he has attacked what he regards as political correctness in the military.

This transformation is important because cultural change has been imposed through repeated intervention with the senior leadership of the services. And more critically because that intervention is now producing operational........

© NDTV