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What did Admiral Daryl Caudill do to position himself for the Chief of Naval Operations job while Franchetti was still in post?
While Admiral Lisa Franchetti was still serving as Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudill directed a senior officer on his staff to reach out to Pete Hegseth's team multiple times during December — offering help preparing for Hegseth's confirmation hearing. Two days after Franchetti was fired, a staff officer on Caudill's behalf contacted Hegseth's brother with an overtly political message, declaring that no one was more aligned with Hegseth's vision for remaking the military than Caudill, and that Caudill wanted to remove "woke barriers" weakening the force. Greg Jaffe described this outreach as a significant violation of military protocol.
Lobbying a civilian boss for a job still held by a sitting officer
The timeline matters here. Caudill's outreach to Hegseth's team began in December, before Franchetti had been removed from her post. That means a senior officer was actively campaigning — through intermediaries — to succeed a fellow officer who hadn't yet been dismissed. This is the detail that makes the episode so striking, as Greg Jaffe explains in The Daily.
The content of the messaging made matters worse. The communication sent two days after Franchetti's firing didn't simply highlight Caudill's credentials or operational record. It framed him in explicitly ideological terms: most aligned with Hegseth's vision, ready to dismantle "woke barriers." This is the language of political loyalty, not military qualification — and it went directly to Hegseth's brother, not through any formal chain of command.
A case study in the new rules of military advancement under Hegseth
Jaffe's reporting — co-authored with colleague Kate Kelly for The Daily's parent publication, the New York Times — treats the CNO succession as a case study for how promotion now works inside Hegseth's Pentagon. The traditional expectation was that senior officers do not lobby for positions. They are selected through an institutional process based on performance and fitness reports.
What Caudill's staff did inverts that model entirely. Rather than waiting to be evaluated, they signaled ideological alignment with the incoming civilian leadership — before that leadership had even been confirmed. Jaffe described this as unprecedented behavior in his 26 years covering the U.S. military, a period that includes multiple wars, multiple secretaries of defense, and multiple CNO transitions. You can hear the full account in this episode of The Daily.
"When you start firing people for political reasons, it's not just the person you fire, but it's the message that sends throughout the entire force that if you want to move up, there are political litmus tests that you have to pass through."
Greg Jaffe — Staff Writer / Military Correspondent, The New York Times.
Jaffe has covered the U.S. military since 1999 — a span of 26 years across multiple wars and administrations. He co-reported this investigation with colleague Kate Kelly, focusing on the hiring and firing patterns shaping Pete Hegseth's Pentagon. Jaffe stated on The Daily that he cannot think of anything remotely close, in his entire career, to the scale of the current purge of senior officers.
See also
Why did Pete Hegseth fire Admiral Lisa Franchetti as Chief of Naval Operations?
Hegseth had criticized Franchetti in his 2024 book, arguing she was not qualified for the job and had only gotten it because she was a woman — identifying her as a symbol of what he saw as DEI-driven promotion practices within the military.
Who is Lisa Franchetti and how did she rise to become Chief of Naval Operations?
Lisa Franchetti grew up in Rochester, New York, attended Northwestern University, and joined the Navy after being recruited on campus. She rose through the ranks over decades, eventually being confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations by the Senate 95 to 1, with overwhelming bipartisan support.
How many generals and admirals has Pete Hegseth fired or blocked from promotions since becoming Secretary of Defense?
According to Greg Jaffe and his colleague Kate Kelly, Hegseth has fired more than a dozen generals and admirals since taking over as secretary, and they estimate 65 to 70 people have been fired or blocked from earned promotions — representing approximately 10 percent of the entire general officer corps.
Key takeaways
- Caudill's outreach to Hegseth's team began in December, before Franchetti had been removed — making this an active campaign to succeed a sitting officer.
- The political framing of the message — invoking "woke barriers" and ideological alignment — marked a clear departure from standard military promotion conduct.
- The contact was made through Hegseth's brother, bypassing any formal institutional channel entirely.
- Jaffe called this a significant violation of military protocol — unprecedented in his 26 years covering the armed forces.
The full conversation with Greg Jaffe — including the details of how Caudill's campaign unfolded — is available on Listenly.
Listen to the episode on Listenly