By Peter Jones*
On Friday 21 February the Trump Administration’s ‘cultural revolution’ hit the Pentagon with the removal of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), General Charles Brown and, of most interest to ANI members, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti. Also removed was the Vice Chief of the Air Force, General James Slife. President Trump has said that retired Lieutenant General Dan Caine will be his nomination as CJCS). A nominee for CNO has not yet been named.
Rumours had been circulating in Washington that CNO would be relieved and the US Naval Institute reported: “Before Hegseth led the Pentagon he spoke against diversity, equity and inclusion policies and women serving in combat roles. He specifically mentioned Franchetti in his book The War on Warriors, as a leader who lacked combat experience.”
Admiral Franchetti’s operational service prior to becoming Vice CNO and then CNO compared very favourably to her recent predecessors. Indeed, it exceeded some of them. She had commanded the destroyer USS Ross, Destroyer Squadron 21, US Naval Forces Korea, Carrier Strike Groups 9 and 15 and then the US Sixth Fleet. While commanding that Fleet one of her submarines conducted Tomahawk strikes against Syria.
While the Defence Secretary had raised concerns about the priority of diversity, equity and inclusion in the US military, what was notable about Admiral Franchetti’s 2024 Navigation Plan America’s Warfighting Navy (since removed from the US Navy website) was its operational focus. Her seven Project 33 targets were:
- Ready the force by eliminating ship, submarine, and aircraft maintenance delay.
- Scale robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed.
- Create the command centres our fleets need to win on a distributed battlefield.
- Recruit and retain the force we need to get more players on the field.
- Deliver a quality of service commensurate with the sacrifices of our Sailors.
- Train for combat as we plan to fight, in the real world and virtually.
- Restore the critical infrastructure that sustains and projects the fight from shore.
The efforts in these areas were starting to bear fruit. In particular the Navy exceeded it recruitment goals in FY2024, for the first time in a couple of years.
Judging by Admiral Franchetti’s contribution at the Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 (https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/releases/2024-08-02/chiefs-navy-panel-discussion-indian-ocean-defence-security-2024 ) she was a thoughtful and highly regarded leader who had a very good grasp of the Indo-Pacific.
What message the removal of the first woman to lead one of the US’s three main armed services, coming as it does after the earlier removal of the US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan only time will tell. It may indicate to women serving at sea in the US Navy, in its 250th year, that the glass ceiling has been firmly put back in place.
*Peter Jones is a former President of the Australian Naval Institute.
