Baez-Ramirez. The first woman to be garrison commander at the U.S. Army’s Fort McCoy. Here she’s conducting a briefing several weeks before this week’s manifestation of growing disrespect in the uniformed ranks for the top chain-of-command.
Commander suspended; review pending
FORT MCCOY, Wis. – The garrison commander at Fort McCoy, Colonel Sheyla Baez-Ramirez, was suspended because portraits of President Trump, Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were turned backwards, facing the wall, in a chain-of-command display. It was not clear whether Baez-Ramirez flipped the portraits herself or was even aware of it. At the Pentagon there was confusion to explain what happened. An early top-level acknowledgement suggested vandalism. Even so, Baez-Ramirez was relieved of duties pending an investigation. Major General Joseph Ricciardi, commander of the 88th Readiness Division at Fort Snelling, who ordered the suspension, said his decision was “not related to any misconduct.” The general provided no further detail.
Before and after. The display has since been restored. Trump is back. So too Vance, Hegseth.
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McCoy profile
The post has a permanent party of 2,500 civilian employees and 500 military personnel. Thousands of reservists undergo annual training at the post, mostly in summer months in two-week increments.
Baez-Ramirez profile
Colonel Baez-Ramirez assumed the duties as garrison commander at Fort McCoy in July 2024. Earlier she was chief of the Army Reserve component at the Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. She holds a bachelor degree in psychology and mental health from the University of Puerto Rico and a master degree in strategic studies from the Army War College.
Tricky dicky
In the waning days of the the Richard Nixon presidency with public anger at the Vietnam war at a feverish pitch, these light switch covers cropped up lots of places. These places included Army Reserve centers. Commanders understood. They pretended not to notice. Nor did they toggle the lights off.