After serving in the position for around eighteen months, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has tendered his retirement.
CBS news confirmed his departure, stating that it followed months of disagreement with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. President Donald Trump’s “drone guy” is a term frequently used to describe the youngest army secretary in history.
According to a statement released to CBS by the White House, Driscoll, 41, has been “highly effective” in pushing Trump’s goal “to Make America Strong Again” and has shown “outstanding leadership” throughout military operations.
The Army, Pentagon, and White House have all been approached by the BBC for comment. Following Navy Secretary John Phelan’s sudden resignation in April, Driscoll is the most recent of several prominent military figures to leave.
Army Chief of Staff Randy George, Army Gen. David Hodne, and Maj. Gen. William Green are among the other significant departures.
Hegseth has dismissed over a dozen top military commanders since joining the Pentagon, including the vice-chief of staff of the Air Force and the chief of naval operations.
Although the specifics of the internal conflict between Driscoll and Hegseth are unknown, CBS reports that the army secretary is close friends with George, who was allegedly asked to step down by Hegseth.
The US Army’s top civilian commander, the army secretary, is in charge of active duty soldiers, reserve soldiers, and members of the National Guard.
Prior to heading a cavalry unit and spending several months in Iraq in 2009, Driscoll was an officer in the Army in 2007. Driscoll gained notoriety as Trump’s “drone guy” while serving as army secretary because of his adoption of cutting-edge military technology.
He traveled abroad, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and assumed a key role in negotiations to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine last year. He met Vice-President JD Vance in Yale Law School, and the two are close friends and allies.
He had a significant role in Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to US cities while serving as the head of the US Army. Additionally, he assumed the position of acting director at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.