The commander of Fort McCoy has been suspended after the U.S. Army base failed to put up official photos of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the wall that displays the chain of command board. Colonel Sheyla Baez Ramirez was suspended from her role as garrison commander at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.
The Pentagon had a turbulent week, with at least four senior officials being fired following a probe into information leaks. Hegseth has adopted an extremely firm stance against defiance, having previously removed Susannah Meyers, a Space Force commander in Greenland, after she distanced herself from comments made by the vice president.
Drawing Hegseth's Wrath
On Sunday, the Defense Secretary retweeted a story regarding the suspension of Ramirez. "Commander of Fort McCoy, whose base chain-of-command board was missing photos of Trump, Vance and Hegseth, has been SUSPENDED," Hegseth retweeted the post from Breitbart reporter Katrina Wong.
"This suspension is not related to any misconduct. We have no further details to provide at this time while this matter is under review," the US Army Reserve Command said in a statement.
Ramirez is the Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy who is responsible for the daily operations and administration of the military base.
According to Task & Purpose, a social media post from last week showed empty black picture frames—where photos of Trump, Vance, and Hegseth are expected to be placed—raised a storm online, prompting the Department of Defense to launch an investigation.
The military news outlet mentioned there were rumors suggesting that Ramirez purposefully left the photo frames blank. However, there is no official confirmation on this.
The Department of Defense later posted an image of the wall that showed the three photo frames had been filled.
"Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy.... WE FIXED IT! Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened," the department's rapid response account later wrote on X.
Punished for Defiance
If it is confirmed that Ramirez's suspension was due to the missing images on the chain-of-command board, she would be the second official to be disciplined for defiance. Ramirez was appointed as garrison commander of Fort McCoy in July 2024, after serving as the chief of the Army Reserves at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Her suspension comes amid a broader wave of leadership changes across the U.S. military. Earlier this month, the Pentagon fired Susannah Meyers, the commander of Pituffik Space Force Base in Greenland, for allegedly undermining Vance.
Days after Vance's Greenland trip, Meyers sent an email to base staff on March 31, writing, "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."
She went on to say that she had "spent the weekend thinking about Friday's visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you."
The Space Force later said in a statement that Meyers was removed from her position, citing a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead."
"Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties," the statement read.
