In a surprising turn of events, Colonel Sheyla Baez Ramirez, a commanding officer at Fort McCoy, has been temporarily relieved of her duties.
This development comes on the heels of an investigation initiated in response to the conspicuous absence of photographs of President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Hegseth from the base's chain-of-command display.
According to RedState, the U.S. Army Reserve, on April 14th, publicly acknowledged the issue, which involved the leaders' photographs being turned to face the wall. The incident was promptly labeled as an act of "vandalism."
The Reserve's official statement on the matter read, The Fort McCoy leadership team and the Army Reserve were unaware of the vandalism of the leadership board at a building at Fort McCoy, WI. Once it was brought to their attention, the leadership at Fort McCoy took immediate action to correct it.
The Department of Defense's Rapid Response team swiftly rectified the situation, restoring the photographs to their rightful place on the command wall. They also confirmed that an investigation was underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. "Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy. WE FIXED IT!" they announced. "Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened."
Speculation was rife that the incident was a form of protest, orchestrated by someone within the base who had deliberately rearranged the photographs.
Colonel Baez Ramirez, who assumed the role of Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy in July of the previous year, was responsible for the daily operations and management of the military installation. However, a cryptic statement on the Army's website suggested that her suspension might be unrelated to the recent controversy. "Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez has been suspended as Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy. This suspension is not related to any misconduct," the statement clarified. "We have no further details to provide at this time while this matter is under review."
Baez Ramirez, who was hailed as the installation's "first Hispanic female Garrison Commander" at a change-of-command ceremony in July 2024, has been a vocal advocate for diversity. I think that as a society, we are looking to integrate our society and were better with each other," she said. "I think that showing the public that we could have diversity in every part of our society is an important thing."
However, respect for the chain of command is equally important, a fact underscored by the recent incident.
The suspension of Baez Ramirez adds to a tumultuous week for the Pentagon, which saw several top staffers dismissed following an investigation into leaks. Concurrently, the media began circulating anonymous allegations concerning Defense Secretary Hegseth's participation in a second Signal chat group.
Defense Secretary Hegseth responded vehemently to these allegations, stating, "What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax. This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations."
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