Donald Trump's administration is less than a week old, but one DEI domino has already fallen in the military.
Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, who became the first female uniformed leader of an armed forces branch in the summer of 2022, was the first to go, terminated over concerns about the border, recruitment, and "an erosion of trust," a senior Homeland Security official told Fox News.
Her focus on DEI hiring policies and practices was another key factor in her dismissal.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) was "appalled" by the decision, and William "Dean" Lee, a retired vice admiral with the Coast Guard, says Fagan may not have been the most obvious choice for termination because of DEI.
"I'm not surprised that they're going to let loose some generals and admirals," he says, "but I was a little bit surprised to see that she was the first."
He calls Fagan a former friend and colleague and says his phone "exploded" Tuesday morning with news of her dismissal.
"I did not see that coming," he recently told Washington Watch host Tony Perkins.
Still, he believes many more removals need to follow.
Lee told Perkins that a group of retired generals, admirals, Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers, and colonels have been trying to get the Biden administration's attention on the DEI hires' substandard performance for the last two or three years.
They got nowhere with the former president, which means Trump, who vehemently opposes DEI policies, has a lot of work ahead to cleanse the military.
"It's not just the Coast Guard," he says. "It's rampant and deeply embedded in all of the military services."
Weakening the military
In Fagan's case, Coast Guard operational readiness was significantly weakened by her recruiting failures and inability to retain troops. Acquiring tools of the trade – icebreakers, helicopters, and more – was a constant challenge because of delays and cost overruns.
Though the Coast Guard is different from other branches in that it falls under the Department of Homeland Security, as its mission is more law enforcement than national security, Lee's group believesDEI practices undermine military unity, regardless of branch of service.
"It was our concerted opinion that it is divisive in nature," he says. "On the surface, it sounds good. But underneath, it's got its roots in Marxist ideology, which pits one group against another, one gender against another."
"We do not think, based on our decades of service, that that's how you build a team," he adds. "I'm glad to see that it's being rooted out of our services."
A long, hard look
DEI is not the only thing on Trump's radar in terms of rebuilding and rebranding the military. In his inauguration speech Monday, the president pledged to reinstate more than 8,000 troops let go for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
They will also receive back pay, he said – something that could cost the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lee applauds the move and says it would be a big step in rebuilding confidence across the armed forces.
"The first thing you do is you acknowledge that that we, the government, were wrong enforcing that mandate down upon them based on what we know now," he notes. "Then you just apologize, and you make it right to the best of your ability."
Many were dismissed with almost two decades of service.
"They need to be allowed to come back on active duty and to get the benefits that they worked so hard to earn," says Lee. "I hope that happens.”
The retired admiral thinks Trump's willingness to take a long, hard look at what happened and why is great for the military, as it is the only way to keep from repeating mistakes.
With that in mind, Lee's group has been working to develop a draft executive order they will urge Trump to sign. It would create a commission to study military policies on COVID, anthrax, and more.
"What was done right? What was done wrong? We need to put all that and more into a report," he submits.
The recommendations from that report would then need to be codified into law.
In the case of the military's COVID response, Lee says there should be accountability where laws were broken or policy was violated. He does not want a "witch hunt" but insists that accountability is necessary to restore trust after a troubled past.
"This is one thing, one policy that affected them all," Lee says of the vaccine mandate. "We owe it to them. We have a duty to do just that. Let's analyze it, recognize what we did wrong, acknowledge it, ask forgiveness, and move on."
