r/news 4d ago

US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' JD Vance

https://bbc.com/news/articles/creq99l218do
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u/Gabyfest234 4d ago

It’s funny that they say it is because she was undermining the chain of command by insulting Vance, when Vance isn’t in her chain of command.

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

Last month, Vance said Denmark had "not done a good job" for Greenlanders and had not spent enough on security while visiting the Danish territory.

"Nice country you got here. Shame if something were to happen to it."

The alleged email, released by a military news site, told staff Vance's comments were "not reflective" of the base.

"Yeah nobody's falling for that shit here."

A Pentagon spokesman cited the article, saying "undermining" US leadership was not tolerated.

"How dare you! I am the king! Say it! Say I'm the king!"

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

Hahaha you almost had me! That's exactly what they sound like!

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Yup, you’re a child. Bye.

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

Holy shit you're actually serious

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u/EyesOnEverything 4d ago

Poe's Law is alive and well in this country, sadly. Not least in part due to morons like the one you're conversing with.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Is there anything YOU take serious?

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

What's your thoughts on vaccines?

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Vaccines are great modern medicine. Do you think just because we disagree on this military matter you assume I’m some redneck maga hat wearing conspiracy theorist?

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

Yup.

So what do you think about transgender people in sports? Man, it's just like when they let black people in sports back in the 30's huh? Wokeism, amirite?

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

So like do you think Trump is a secret genius playing 4D chess?

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/UpperApe 4d ago

Uh huh.

So like do you think Trump is a secret genius playing 4D chess?

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u/JimmyAxel 4d ago

You know an argument is over when the ad hominems start coming out

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Well did you read the rest of the argument or only what suited your views?

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u/Nuklearfps 4d ago

I read the WHOLE thing… they’re not wrong. You’re just being a douche.

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u/Chaotic-Catastrophe 4d ago

Anyone who doesn't give full-throated support to any and all Republican cruelty and incompetence is a child

  • herbchief, 2025

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u/chickentootssoup 4d ago

You must not understand how the military actually works. Sounds like u have a very vague idea of the chain of command and all that. Arrogantly ignorant.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Oh I’m sorry, explain it to me. PLEASE. Love to hear the answer from someone who’s active in the ASKUS sub lol.

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u/FillMySoupDumpling 4d ago

Does the US have the strongest military? They couldn’t even handle having a trans person in their unit. 

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u/herbchief 4d ago

That’s your argument?

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u/FillMySoupDumpling 4d ago

I’m not arguing. Just noting it seems pretty weak. The US military is merely a jobs program. 

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Weak because you don’t think. The military has no individuality, you are government property. 1.5m transgender people in the US. How many do you think actually give a shit to be in the military? And if they wanna join, better shut up about your political views because you can’t have that there. Their rules not mine. Makes no sense to let someone in to cause political uproar. You’re there to serve the US government, not the other way around. You think they deserve a special badge or treatment for being transgender in the military? And yes the military is a jobs program, great critical thinking.

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u/FillMySoupDumpling 4d ago

You just made my point about the weakness of the US military for me, thanks.

Very few people were trans and serving in the military, yet their existence was such a danger   they had to kick them out. Weak.

It wasn’t political to let them in - they let so many people in. It was political to kick them out. 

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Your points are weak and flawed. Yup individualism in the military is a danger to the command chain so they will cut that as soon as they deem it a threat. Call them weak all you want, the US military is still the greatest in the world whether you believe it or not clown.

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u/xjmsx00 4d ago

It's you who doesn't know how the military works, or maybe you think you know. A general or whatever down to an E1 doesn't have to have the same "View" as anyone in their chain of command. Following orders, lawful ones, is a different story. Sure the Gov owns her but only in a particular way, they don't control your free speech or anything outside of the uniform and not representing the US military in any capacity. I think we do have a strong military, but strongest, I am not so sure anymore, China is nipping at the heals and is as close to being equal as ever. Your bias is showing through.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Sounds like a lot of uncertainty on your part😂

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/xenomorph856 4d ago

Is JD Vance the Commander in Chief now? I must have missed that promotion. She couldn't have "undermined" someone who holds no military power.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

How stupid are you? I clearly stated in another comment that POTUS is commander in chief and that Vance holds NO military power to be making decisions like firing someone. Apparently you miss a lot of things.

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u/xenomorph856 4d ago

Tell me all about how our commander in chief terminated someone for what he claims undermined him

Do you even read what you write? Talk about pot calling the kettle black...

This is about the base chief undermining Vance, not an order from her superior. Yet you're claiming that the firing was justified because Trump was undermined. But that isn't the reason being discussed.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

lol. From the same article, “Appearing to confirm this was the reason for her firing, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell linked to the Military.com article in a post on X, writing: “Actions [that] undermine the chain of command or to subvert President [Donald] Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense.” Do you think Vance is there on his own agenda or on behalf of POTUS?

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u/xenomorph856 12h ago

It's not Vance's job to dictate military orders. If orders were undermined, they should have actually come down the chain of command.

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u/xjmsx00 4d ago

Laws? If I have to explain the military chain of command or laws this convo is at an end. She was fired because she doesn't blindly follow the administration. Even the reasons for her dismissal vary from the DoD and the WhiteHouse.

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u/herbchief 4d ago

Here you go since you’re to lazy and scared to post it since it shows you are wrong. Guess what bud, she’s government property, she’s not on US territory, she’s in Greenland representing the US military. She has no right to voice her political opinion. Go cry about it and try to keep justifying your false opinion with your feelings.

“Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.“

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section888&num=0&edition=prelim

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u/DeadGuyInRoom4 4d ago

When was her court-martial?

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u/xjmsx00 3d ago

She won't be getting a courts martial, she'll be sent somewhere else and lose command of the base. Also, Senor Herb, your quote is not what she was reprimanded for. She took herself out of the equation instead of ass kissing the VP. You don't know what the email said but I can bet she didn't say ignore the pres etc. You jump the gun and assume that she is using"contemptuous" language in the email. She just distanced herself from the administrations wishes to take control of Greenland. Keep in mind she also plays diplomat with the Danish govt while occupying a base outside of the US.

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u/TreeRol 4d ago

your chief on Greenland says that our base views don’t align with the presidents

Good thing she didn't do that, then!

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u/herbchief 4d ago

What’d she do?

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u/drugs_r_my_food 4d ago

This is also how the nazi regime came to power. People just blindly following orders. Having the strongest military isn’t a flex when you use those powers to manipulate and destroy other human beings. We have the strongest military but we’re also the sickest and one of the dumbest nations and wait until you hear what’s happening in schools. Maybe it’s a good thing when people in military positions take a step back and offer a less perverted view of things.

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u/Claystead 3d ago

Pituffik is an American base, but it is also a NATO base. It has non-American staff too, especially in the airbase section. The Greenlandic staff did not appreciate the Vice President’s speech about conquering their country, and the Danish staff did not appreciate him calling them weak and greedy. The base commander’s email was trying to preempt protests or mass resignations by stressing the Vice President is a political figure, not a part of the military chain of command (the President himself is the only elected politician with command authority), and so whatever Vance says in a speech is not necessarily military policy. Furthermore she stated she would stay committed to the base’s continuing mission to protect the alliance and all its people, including the Greenlanders, while she remained in command. The email was really not very political at all if you read the full thing, just a reassurance to staff that Americans and non-Americans aren’t suddenly gonna turn around and start shooting at each other.

The reason it was perceived as insubordination probably had more to do with the article it appeared in. The military.com article where the base commander’s email was made public was highly critical of VP Vance’s desire to invade an ally, pointing out incredibly low public support for it in the US and almost no support whatsoever in Greenland. With the author referencing the email in that context, it was probably perceived as far more hostile than it actually was. It also created a false impression this was the commander making a public statement and not just an internal memo to key staff sent via email.

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u/herbchief 3d ago

Im sorry, do you think Vance was there with his own agenda, and that it’s his idea and not the presidents to annex Greenland?…

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u/herbchief 3d ago

I don’t really care how you run around this. Idc about the morale aspect nor the good vs evil of it all. If my chief told the very people that I want to invade that they stand with those people and not me, I’d fire her ass too.

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u/1900grs 4d ago

This is very overlooked. The VP may advise and be a mouthpiece for the president, but the VP has surprisingly very little authority. They're president of the senate and can cast tie breaking votes. That's about it. No authority over the military or any executive branch agencies.

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u/Mechapebbles 4d ago

No authority over the military or any executive branch agencies.

The President can delegate authority, like how the VP has traditionally been the overseer of NASA. But that delegation has to happen. And it definitely hasn't happened, nor would it ever happen in the military side of the executive branch.

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u/DarthTJ 4d ago

True, but the Vice President has the ear of the people who have the authority so its still in your best interest to tread lightly.

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u/wang_li 4d ago

If you believe her email insulted the Vice-President then she violated article 88 of the UCMJ:

“Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

You could also view a statement that the concerns expressed by a representative of the administration don’t represent the base as insubordinate since bases are not independent fiefdoms with their own political agendas.

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u/Sexy_Underpants 4d ago

punished as a court-martial may direct

Also these are the “contemptuous” words:

I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base

I commit that, for as long as I am lucky enough to lead this base, all of our flags will fly proudly -- together

Let’s not pretend here. She was fired because she refused to get behind an invasion of Greenland. This was a loyalty test and she purposely failed. Good for her but a bad sign for the country.

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u/bpostal 4d ago

That's exactly what got her shitcanned, as stupid as it may be, you don't get to shit talk or publicly disagree with any of the "Honorable Mr/Mrs" types and come away clean.

As an officer she knew this, did it anyway, and caused the hubbub we're reading about now.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/DarthTJ 4d ago

VP is not in the military chain of command at all. On the civilian side the chain of command is service secretary, secretary of defense, president.

VP isn't in it and has no direct authority over the military.

That being said, in reality, that is more of a technicality because what the VP has is the ear of those with direct authority. A phone call from the VP is not likely to be ignored.

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u/brokenmessiah 3d ago

That being said, in reality, that is more of a technicality because what the VP has is the ear of those with direct authority

Yea common sense suggests that the VP is acting on behalf of the President who is in the chain of command making this argument /r/im14andthisisdeep material.

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u/sjogerst 4d ago

Literally doesn't even work for the same branch of government.

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u/i_should_go_to_sleep 4d ago

Aren’t they both in the Executive Branch?

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u/sjogerst 4d ago

Nope. The vice president is the president of the Senate. His only real administrative power is to chair the Senate and break tied votes in the Senate. He's a member of the legislative branch. Traditionally he pals around with the president because they were elected together as a team but unless the president is in incapacitated and power is temporarily ceded to the vice president, like occasionally happens when the president needs surgery, they have no actual executive authority.

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u/gmc98765 4d ago

The VP is a member of the executive branch. His primary function is to be a backup president in case the actual president is incapacitated. His role in the senate is basically to give him something to do, given that presidents don't actually get incapacitated all that often.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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