US Air Force official’s 'forced' resignation sending 'shockwaves through the Pentagon'

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force members work on the preparation of a humanitarian aid drop for Gaza residents, in this picture released on March 5, 2024. US Central Command via X/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo

Gen. David Allvin, chief of staff for the U.S. Air Force, was appointed to a four-year term under former President Joe Biden and ex-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. But now, according to reporting in the Washington Post and the Daily Beast, he is being forced out only two years into that term — a development that, Dan Lamothe and Tara Copp report in the Post, is "sending shockwaves through the Pentagon."

Allvin's resignation, according to Lamothe and Copp, was confirmed by Pentagon officials on Monday, August 19. And his departure is consistent with a pattern that is occurring under President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Lamothe and Copp report, "Allvin's impending departure follows the firings of several other senior military officers since Trump's return to the White House this year, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force. Generals and admirals serving in less prominent roles also have been purged, sending shockwaves through the Pentagon and much of the U.S. military, where stability typically is seen as an asset."

A Pentagon source, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Post that Allvin had a choice of either announcing his resignation or getting fired. And he agreed to step down if he could make the announcement himself.

According to the Pentagon source, "It was certainly not his choice."

Lamothe and Copp report, "Allvin was informed last week that he would be asked to retire and that the Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, wanted to go in another direction, said a person familiar with the matter, who, like some others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue."

Although Allvin didn't give a specific reason for his departure in his resignation announcement, a Post source, according to Lamothe and Copp, "said he was surprised it took as long as it did for the Trump Administration to remove Allvin" because "administration officials have been frustrated for some time with his oversight of preparations for a potential security crisis involving China."

The Daily Beast's Ewan Palmer notes, "The retirement is expected to be on or about November 1. Allvin said he was 'grateful for the opportunity' to serve as the 23rd Air Force chief of staff. 'More than anything, I'm proud to have been part of the team of airmen who live out our core values of integrity, service, and excellence every day as we prepare to defend this great nation,' he added. Allvin will remain in his role until a successor is confirmed."

Palmer adds, "Gen. Thomas Bussiere, Trump's pick for Air Force vice chief of staff who played a key role in Operation Midnight Hammer — the U.S. military strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities in June — is believed to be the frontrunner."

Read the Washington Post's full article at this link (subscription required) and the Daily Beast's reporting here (subscription required).