More ex military leaders than we think are critical of the Bush administration.

Ret. General hits three network morning shows
calling for Rumsfeld's ouster

RAW STORY
Published: Friday April 14, 2006

Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, appeared on the morning talk shows of all three major networks on Friday calling for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.

CHRIS MATHEWS NAILS GENERAL JOHN BATISTE

Added November 23, 2006
From MIKEHUNTdotTV
CHRIS MATHEWS NAILS GENERAL JOHN BATISTE CHRIS MATHEWS NAILS GENERAL JOHN BATISTE ON HOW DOES IT MAKE ANY SENSE TO INCRESE TROOP LEVELS.
MUST SEE! ...

The The Randi Rhodes Show > Message Forums > Heard on the show
EyeswideopenNov 30 2006, 06:03 PM
When Matthews questioned Batiste, it was very telling. Batiste could not keep his talking points together and make them believable. He wasn't making any sense and Chris has obviously lost his patience with the b.s. of the warmongering propagandists. I too thought someone got to Batiste, because his words did not match what he had previously said in no uncertain terms. At one point, Matthews wanted to know who we are supposed to be killing in Iraq? Batiste could not answer. It would be laughable if it were not so tragic. But it was reassuring to see Chris Matthews refusing to go along with the lies.



General Kevin Byrnes

August 15, 2005
Bush Against the Generals
Iran, the White House, and the purge of the military


The firing of General Kevin Byrnes
, allegedly for "adultery" – even though he's already been separated from his wife – a few months before he's due to retire, is awfully suspicious in this context: General Byrnes reportedly made an enemy of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for opposing the Rumsfeldian "transformation" of the military into a more "flexible" instrument of the Bush Doctrine and the neocons' imperial vision. In essentially firing a four-star general – a vicious act of retribution that certainly bears the personal stamp of the chimp-in-chief – the White House engaged in a preemptive strike against the War Party's enemies in the military


General Sir Richard Dannatt

It all started with an extraordinary interview with the Daily Mail, where General Sir Richard Dannatt called for UK forces to get out of Iraq ‘sometime soon, because our presence exacerbates the security problems’. He added that, whilst ‘the differences we are experiencing around the world’ were not entirely caused by the Iraq war, ‘undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them’

Tommy Franks

May 22, 2003

Occupation of Iraq: Senators grill Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on the status of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
2003 occupation of Iraq: The United Nations Security Council votes to lift its sanctions on Iraq and to give the United States and United Kingdom control over the country indefinitely until a democratic government is formed.
U.S. General Tommy Franks, who commanded American-led forces in the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, announces his retirement.

He was the U.S. general leading the attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan in response to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Franks also led the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and was commander-in-chief of the American occupation forces.


Statements on nuclear attack against the United States
According to Time magazine, on November 21, 2003, Tommy Franks said that in the event of another terrorist attack, American Constitutional liberties might be discarded by popular demand in favor of a military state. His quote:

Discussing the hypothetical dangers posed to the U.S. in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Franks said that “the worst thing that could happen” is if terrorists acquire and then use a biological, chemical or nuclear weapon that inflicts heavy casualties.

If that happens, Franks said, “... the Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we’ve seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.”

Franks then offered “in a practical sense” what he thinks would happen in the aftermath of such an attack.

“It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world – it may be in the United States of America – that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then begins to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very important.”


Gary E. Luck, four-star Army general of the United States Army (retired), currently a senior adviser to the military's Joint Forces Command, sent to Iraq in early 2005 to investigate areas of operation there, identify any weaknesses and report back to commanders at The Pentagon with a confidential assessment on what can be done to install democracy in Iraq, and to set a date for the withdrawal for American and coalition forces.

Gary Luck was previously the Commander of the US forces in South Korea. He was also an advisor to Tommy Franks prior to the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and served as Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps in the Gulf War under Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez (born 1953) was the commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq and was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the United States Army when he retired on 1 November 2006. At that time, he called his career a casualty of the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Peter Tinley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Tinley retired from the Australian military in 2006 after a distinguished 25-year career. He served in Afghanistan and Iraq and was one of the key strategists from the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) involved in the planning and leadership of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


LtGen John M. Riggs, U.S. Army retired, is an American Army general who was retired, apparently as a result of his contradiction of the U.S. government stance on troop strength needed to support the actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. [1] . He had attained the rank of Lieutenant General (3-star), but was retired with the loss of one star, at the rank of Major General (2-star) in 2005. According to the Army, this was because of misuse of contractors — though the infractions were deemed to be so minor that they were not put into his permanent record.

In 2006, Riggs, along with a number of other retired senior U.S. military officials — LtGen. Gregory S. Newbold (USMC), MajGen Paul Eaton (U.S. Army), and Gen Anthony Zinni (USMC) — has come out calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over his handling of the Iraq War. In an interview with NPR's Michele Norris, Riggs said, "I think he should step aside and let someone step in who can be more realistic."


Charles H. Swannack Jr. is a former officer in the United States Army.[1] Swannack's last position within the Army was commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. His last rank was Major General.

Swannack called for the dismissal of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on April 13, 2006.

In an interview with the New York Times, Swannack said:

"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores, But I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq


In 2003 it was announced that general Garner had been selected to lead the post-war reconstruction efforts in Iraq. He was regarded as a natural choice by the Bush administration given his earlier similar role in the north. Garner began reconstruction efforts in March 2003 with plans aiming for Iraqis to hold elections within 90 days and for the U.S. to quickly pull troops out of the cities to a desert base. He was replaced in his role by Paul Bremer, the Managing Director of Kissinger and Associates, on May 11th, 2003.

It has been suggested that Garner was moved aside because he did not agree with the White House about who should decide how to reconstruct Iraq. He wanted early elections - 90 days after the fall of Bagdhad, and the new government to decide how to run the country and what to do with their assets. Garner said "I don't think [Iraqis] need to go by the U.S. plan, I think that what we need to do is set an Iraqi government that represents the freely elected will of the people. It's their country… their oil.


Air Commodore Lionel Evelyn Oswald Charlton CB, CMG, DSO, RAF (7 July 1879 - 18 April 1958) was educated at Brighton College and entered the army. Shortly before World War I he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and after becoming one of its first brigadier-generals went on to become a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.

On 2 February 1923, Air Commodore Charlton took up the post of Chief Staff Officer at the headquarters of the RAF's Iraq Command. It was at this time that the RAF employed the bombing of Iraqi villages with the intent of pacifying tribal opposition. Charlton opposed this policy and he went on to openly criticize such bombing action. Within a year of his arrival, Charlton resigned from his post in Iraq.


Lieutenant General Gregory S. Newbold (USMC Retired) served for the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Director of Operations (J-3) before he retired in October 2002. Openly critical of Donald Rumsfeld's plans for the invasion of Iraq, he retired partly as a protest.

General Newbold is a resident of Virginia. On March 3, 2006, Newbold joined fellow former U.S. Marines General Joseph P. Hoar, General Tony Zinni, Lt. General Frank E. Petersen, and Congressman Jack Murtha in endorsing fellow former U.S. Marine and Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb for U.S. Senate in Virginia.


General Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB, LVO, OBE (born 17 November 1938) was Chief of the Defence Staff between 1997 and 2001 and Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1994 and 1997.

He is a cross bench member of the House of Lords. He was created a life peer as Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, of Craigiebank in the City of Dundee, after retiring as Chief of the Defence Staff. He was one of the several retired Chiefs of Defence Staff who spoke out in the House of Lords about the risk to servicemen facing liability for their actions - for which politicians are ultimately responsible - before the International Criminal Court, particularly in respect to the invasion of Iraq. He is a Knight of Malta.


Major General John Batiste is a retired officer of the United States Army.[1]

He was commander of the First Infantry Division of the United States Army in Iraq at the beginning of the Iraq War. Batiste declined a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General and subsequently asked to be retired from active duty, because he was concerned about U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's policies concerning the war.


Bernard E. Trainor (born 2 September 1928) is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general who is military analyst for NBC. He worked for The New York Times as chief military correspondent from 1986 to 1990 and at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government as Director of the National Security Program from 1990 to 1996. Later he was a Senior Fellow for National Security at the Council on Foreign Relations. He and Michael R. Gordon have written two books together: The Generals' War, which covers the 1991 Gulf War, and Cobra II, which covers the Iraq War begun in 2003.



General Peter John Cosgrove, AC, MC, CNZM (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian general. He was the Chief of the Australian Defence Force from 3 July 2002 to July 2005, when he retired from active service. He was a well loved character by the Australian Public and was certainly larger than life.

The Iraq War & the spread of global terrorism
General Cosgrove was accused of playing politics after senior government figures, such as Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, queried the Federal Police Commissioner's patriotism.

Peter Cosgrove has apologised to Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty and now admits that the Iraq war has boosted global terrorism.


Geoffrey D. Miller (born c. 1949) is a United States Army Major General who commanded the US detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and later Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.


On November 2002, Miller was given command of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), which runs the US detention facilities known as Camp X-Ray, Camp Delta and Camp Echo in Cuba. During his tenure, Miller was credited with bringing order and discipline to the facility and improving interrogation procedures. Miller later said that two-thirds of the 600 prisoners had confessed to being involved in terrorism and were giving "actionable intelligence." However, it is believed that Miller's increased leadership led to allegations of beatings, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, using attack dogs to intimidate prisoners, and other abuses at Guantanamo Bay.


Miller retired from the Army on July 31, 2006.[7] The Washington Post reports that Miller wanted to retire, in February, forgoing trying for promotion to Lieutenant General, because his reputation had been damaged by alleged links between his policies at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, and at Abu Ghraib, and the abuse of prisoners. The Washington Post reports that Congress delayed his retirement because Senators weren't confident he told the truth when he testified before them. The Washington
Post reports that he was only allowed to retire
when he promised, in writing, to appear before congress, and testify truthfully.

At his retirement service Miller was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and praised as an "innovator". [8]


General Shinseki assumed duties as the 28th Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army on 24 November 1998. He assumed duties as the 34th Chief of Staff, United States Army, on 22 June 1999, [1] and retired on 11 June 2003, at the end of his four-year term.

Shinseki is a native of Hawaii and is the only Japanese American to ever be promoted to the Army's top position.

Tensions with Rumsfeld while Chief of the Army
During the course of Shinseki's tenure as Chief of Staff, there were press reports of tension between the General and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. At the start of his tenure as Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld had to address Shinseki's controversial decision in March 16, 2001 to issue all Army troops black berets, which had previously been worn only by the Rangers. [2] (Rumsfeld publicly supported the decision.)

In 2001, Shinseki reportedly staved off suggestions by Rumsfeld and his aides that the Army be reduced in size. [3] The Quadrennial Defense Review issued in 2001 maintained the existing size of the Army. Another fight ensued in 2002, when Rumsfeld cancelled the XM2001 Crusader, an artillery weapons system supported by Shinseki and members of Congress.


Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired general in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). In 2002, he was selected to be a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He has been a public critic of the Bush administration and did not support the decision to go to war in Iraq.


Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson (US Army, retired) was the chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. He retired from government service in January 2005 at the same time as Powell. Subsequent to their retirement, he and Powell had a falling out over Wilkerson's strident criticism of the administration of George W. Bush.

Wilkerson was responsible for the one-week review of information from the Central Intelligence Agency that was used to prepare Powell for his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council. His failure to realize that the evidence was faulty has been blamed on the limited time he had to review the data. The subsequent developments led Wilkerson to become disillusioned: "Combine the detainee abuse issue with the ineptitude of post-invasion planning for Iraq, wrap both in this blanket of secretive decision-making . . . and you get the overall reason for my speaking out."[1]

Wilkerson is an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary where he teaches courses on U.S. national security. He also instructs a senior seminar in the Honors Department at the George Washington University entitled "National Security Decision Making". He and his wife Barbara have two children; his son is an Air Force navigator while his daughter was in the Army but has since returned to civilian life.

Iraq War Intelligence was "a Hoax"
During an October 19, 2005 speech at the New America Foundation, Wilkerson gave a stinging criticism of the entire intelligence community which compiled the Iraq War Intelligence. He had criticism for U.S. intelligence agencies as well as the international community including the French, Germans, and British who all believed the intelligence prior to the Iraq War.

"I can’t tell you why the French, the Germans, the Brits and us thought that most of the material, if not all of it, that we presented at the U.N. on 5 February 2003 was the truth"

In an interview that aired on PBS in Spring 2006 Wilkerson claimed that the speech Powell made before the United Nations on Feb. 5, 2003, laying out a case for war with Iraq, included falsehoods of which Powell had never been made aware. He said, "My participation in that presentation at the UN constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. I participated in a hoax on the American people, the international community and the United Nations Security Council."


David M. Brahms is a retired Brigadier General who served in the United States Marine Corps.

Post-military career
Since his retirement from the Marine Corps, Brahms has been in private practice of law in Carlsbad California. Brahms is also on the board of directors of the Judge Advocates Association.

Brahms served as a technical consultant for the Hollywood movie A Few Good Men.


[edit] Open letter to President Bush of September 7, 2004
On September 7, 2004 Brahms and seven other retired officers wrote an open letter to President Bush expressing their concern over the number of allegations of abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody. In it they wrote:

"We urge you to commit – immediately and publicly – to support the creation of a comprehensive, independent commission to investigate and report on the truth about all of these allegations, and to chart a course for how practices that violate the law should be addressed."


Kevin P. Byrnes is a 56 year old U.S. Army four-star general, (1 of only 11), who was relieved of command in August 2005, apparently for adultery, after 36 years of military service.

"A four-star general who was relieved of command this week said Wednesday through his lawyer that the Army took the action after an investigation into accusations that he was involved in a consensual relationship with a female civilian. The lawyer, Lt. Col. David H. Robertson, said the case involves an adult relationship with a woman who is not in the military, nor is a civilian employee of the military or the federal government. The general, Kevin P. Byrnes, was relieved Monday by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, just a few months before General Byrnes was scheduled to retire as head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). [1]

General Byrnes assumed the duties of Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command, on November 7, 2002, after serving as the Director, Army Staff.


In 1959, Murtha, then a captain, took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for service in the Vietnam War, serving from 1966 to 1967, serving as a battalion staff officer (S-2 Intelligence Section), receiving the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired from the Reserves as a colonel in 1990, receiving the Navy
Distinguished Service Medal.

In May 2005, he said that the problems that the military had in Iraq were due to a “lack of planning” by Pentagon chiefs and “the direction has got to be changed or it is unwinnable”.

On 17 November 2005, he touched off a firestorm when he called for the redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, saying, "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home.”[15] Murtha later stated that he was calling for redeployment as opposed to a withdrawal, noting that he supported the establishment of an “over-the-horizon” presence of Marines within the region.

He has also said that terrorists want an American military presence in Iraq: “I think they’re trying to get this administration to stay. I think they want us there. Because we have united the Iraqis against us. We’re spending all this money and diverting our resources away from the war on terrorism because we’re involved in a civil war in Iraq.”


General Sir (Hugh) Michael Rose, KCB CBE DSO QGM (born 1940 in what was then British India) is a retired British Army General.

Opposition to Tony Blair
In 2006 he came once again to public attention when he criticised British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and called for his impeachment for leading the country to war in Iraq under false pretenses. This highlighted the unease felt in the highest levels of the British armed forces about the legality, and indeed the practicality, of the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq.

On January 9, 2006, Rose called for Tony Blair to be impeached over the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, saying on BBC Radio 4's Today programme "To go to war on what turns out to be false grounds is something that no one should be allowed to walk away from."

Rick Francona is a commentator and media military analyst. He is a retired United States Air Force intelligence officer with extensive operational experience in the Middle East, including tours of duty with the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. He is currently under contract to NBC News and appears regularly on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, as well as Radio Canada and other worldwide media.

General Van Riper's personal decorations include: the Silver Star Medal with gold star; Legion of Merit; Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; Purple Heart; Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Navy Achievement Medal; and the Combat Action Ribbon with gold star.

He is critical of the current transformation efforts in the military, especially changes originating from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He gained notoriety after he claimed that the Millennium Challenge 2002 wargame, in which he played the opposing force commander, was "fixed" to falsely validate these transformation efforts. He is also critical of post-war Iraq plans and implementation. On April 24, 2006, he joined several other retired generals in calling for Rumsfeld's resignation.


General Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first U.S. Marine appointed to this position. In this capacity he serves as America's highest ranking military officer below the President.


Service as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
On November 29, 2005, General Pace was present at a press conference given by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during which the two differed in how troops should intervene if torture is observed.

At a July 2006 field hearing in Miami, Florida, led by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.), Gen. Pace broke down in tears talking about his Italian immigrant father and the opportunities his parents gave their children by coming to the United States. The focus of the hearing was to discuss the contributions immigrants have made to the armed forces, relevant to the United States immigration debate.


Karen U. Kwiatkowski is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel whose assignments included duties as a Pentagon desk officer and in a variety of roles for the National Security Agency. Since retiring, she has become a noted critic of the U.S. government's involvement in Iraq. Kwiatkowski is primarily known for her insider essays that denounce a corrupting political influence on the course of military intelligence leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. She has said that she was the anonymous source used by Seymour Hersh and Warren Strobel in their respective exposés of pre-war intelligence.

""It wasn't intelligence — it was propaganda. They'd take a little bit of intelligence, cherry-pick it, make it sound much more exciting, usually by taking it out of context, often by juxtaposition of two pieces of information that don't belong together." [17]
"Interestingly, the Downing Street Memo is actually being reported by CNN and FOX News. It is being discussed in the major papers. Congress intends to examine it. Hearing it mentioned on the half hour by CNN Headline News has not dispossessed me of the belief that a state suicide is impossible. Thus, my gentle thoughts are increasingly turning to murder. Murder of the state. In self-defense, of course!"[18]


Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired four-star general in the U.S. Army. As the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000, Clark commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War. He had a distinguished career in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations over the course of his career along with several honorary knighthoods and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clark is a graduate of West Point, and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University where he earned a Masters Degree in Economics.

Clark joined the 2004 race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination as a drafted candidate on September 17, 2003 but withdrew from the primary race on February 11, 2004 and continued to actively campaign for eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry. Clark currently leads a political action committee "Securing America", which was formed after the primaries,[1] and used it to support numerous candidates in the 2006 midterm elections.[2] Due a variety of factors, such as military experience, his "netroots" support [3], and potential cross-party appeal for the general election, Clark is considered as a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is a Marine Corps veteran, former member of Ronald Reagan's administration, author, and Democratic U.S. Senator-elect from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Webb was a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. During his four years with the Reagan administration, Webb served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy. Webb won the Democratic nomination for the 2006 Virginia Senate race by defeating Harris Miller in the primary, then won the general election by defeating the Republican incumbent, George Allen.


Senator-elect
On November 15, 2006, Senate majority leader in waiting Harry Reid assigned Webb to three committees: the committees on Foreign Relations, Veterans' Affairs, and Armed Services.[17]

On November 28, 2006, It was reported that at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Webb attempted to "avoid" President Bush, whom he criticized frequently on the campaign trail, and declined to stand in the presidential receiving line or have his picture taken with the president. Reportedly, the president found Webb and asked him, "How's your boy?", referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq. According to reports, Webb replied that he “really wanted to see his son brought back home”. Bush responded, ”I didn't ask you that, I asked how he's doing." Webb responded that that was "between me and my boy". Accounts claim that Webb was so angered by the exchange that he was tempted to "slug" the president, and later when recounting the incident divulged "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall,"


David H. Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005) known affectionately as "Hack", was a retired United States Army colonel and prominent military journalist.


Settling on the Australian Gold Coast near Brisbane, Hackworth soon made a fortune through savvy real estate investing, a profitable duck farm, and a popular restaurant called Scaramouche. He was also active in the Australian anti-nuclear movement.


Hackworth the Journalist

Hackworth returned to the U.S. in the mid-1980s and began working as a contributing editor on defense issues for Newsweek. He also made regular television appearances to discuss various military-related topics, and the shortcomings of the military. His commentary on the psychological effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, based on his own experiences in overcoming the disease, resonated with disabled veterans.

In the mid-1990s, Hackworth investigated Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, then Chief of Naval Operations. Hackworth, thru his Newsweek articles, questioned Boorda's wearing of [potentially unauthorized] V ( for valor) devices on his Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal, generating much controversy. Unable to handle the pressure from the ensuing media coverage, Boorda committed suicide before he could be interviewed by Hackworth. Hackworth continued his efforts, appearing on countless televisions and radio talk shows and formed his own website, "Soldiers for the Truth," continuing to be the voice of the "grunts" until his death. Newsweek caved to government pressure and fired Hackworth.