On February 23, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Senior Military Assistant Air Force Lieutenant General Jennifer M. Short.
No reason was given for her termination. However, she is among the first of many female officers to be fired by Hegseth, also with no justifications given. Like several of the other firings, Lt. Gen. Short’s violated precedent, as roles including the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense are “explicitly intended to bridge across administrations rather than changing with each incoming president.”
Ironically, Lt. Gen. Short’s CV is just as impressive if not superior to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.
As of March 2025, the Air Force website states that Lt. Gen. Short is now the “principal military point of contact for the Secretary of Defense and is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s representative with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.”
