ICYMI: See Where Senator Tuberville is Blocking More Than 300 Military Appointments

New reports are detailing the dangerous and damaging impact of Senator Tommy Tuberville's holds on more than 300 senior military leadership appointments – including at Redstone Arsenal in the state Senator Tuberville represents. As the reports show, the disruption caused by Senator Tuberville's blockade extends to high-ranking leadership in every branch of service of the Defense Department, in posts across the country and globe, and with cascading impacts down the chain of command threatening our military readiness. If Senator Tuberville's partisan game continues, three-quarters of our nations' generals and admirals will be impacted by the end of the year.

Retired Generals and national security experts agree that these holds are risking our national security. As Peter Feaver, a former national security official who served under President George W. Bush noted, "this is a gift to China, and it's a gift that keeps giving day in and day out." Vincent Boles, a retired major general who coaches Redstone Arsenal contractors, detailed the challenge of not having confirmed appointees, saying, "am I going to make massive strategic decisions that make a significant impact over the next 20 to 30 years? Or do I just want to keep the trains running on time?"

Retired Major General Jim Pillsbury noted, "it's hurting the military, so consequently it would be hurting Redstone Arsenal… we're playing musical chairs with senior folks both in uniform and in the civilian ranks to try to fill some holes." And one senior leader of the Space and Missile Defense Command highlighted that Senator Tuberville's holds are having "ripple effects all the way down the line, especially on mid-grade officers such as colonel."

Read the full stories below:

Washington Post: See where Sen. Tommy Tuberville is blocking 301 military promotions
[Dan Lamothe and Hannah Dormido, 8/12/23]

From Alabama to Asia, the scope of senior military officers frozen in place by a dispute between Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is vast, including not only the incoming leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff but generals and admirals focused on China policy, arming Ukraine, and modernizing U.S. combat forces after 20 years of war.

Data obtained and verified by The Washington Post reveals that, as of Aug. 12, 301 high-level positions were ensnared in Tuberville's hold. That number is expected to more than double by the end of the year, officials say, unless the impasse, which stems from the Pentagon's abortion policy, is resolved. By year's end, The Pentagon estimates that about three-quarters of the generals and admirals in the Defense Department — 650 of 852 — will be affected by Tuberville's hold.

Each of the Defense Department's five branches of service is affected, as is President Biden's nominee to assume the military's top role, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. The prospective heads of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps are all in limbo, too, along with each service's No. 2 position. Yet those roles, all based in Washington, represent only a sliver of controversy's global reach.

Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, implemented the hold in February to protest Austin's response to last year's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that for nearly 50 years guaranteed a fundamental right to abortion. The policy provides paid leave and reimburses travel expenses incurred by military personnel who must leave the state where they are assigned because the procedure was banned or otherwise restricted there after the high court ended federal protections.

Those in the military, Austin has argued, do not get to choose where they serve and deserve access to reproductive care. Tuberville's view is that federal money should not be used to cover abortion and anything connected to it.

His hold is not absolute, but it gums up the usual process in which well-qualified, noncontroversial nominees are approved by the Senate in batches. It's possible to vote on them individually, but doing so would take months, Democrats say.

[…]

Previous holds have been resolved relatively quickly, however, making this case uniquely troubling and destructive over time, said Peter Feaver, a professor who studies civil-military relations at Duke University. Feaver, a national security official during the presidential administration of George W. Bush, said the nation is now in "rare and uncharted territory" given the sweep and significance of the roles affected.

What the data show:

Air Force: 98 on hold

Air Force generals affected by the hold begin at the very top, where Brown is expected to be elevated this fall to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. David Allvin has been nominated to replace Brown at the top of the Air Force.

Other frozen nominees include Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, who is expected to be promoted to four-star general and become the next commander of Pacific Air Forces, a post central to U.S. policy toward China and North Korea; Lt. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, slated to be the next four-star general overseeing U.S. Northern Command, central to homeland defense; and Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, a four-star general expected to take over at Air Combat Command, which directs the service's fleet of fighter aircraft.

Army: 91 on hold

Among the Army officers affected are Biden's nominees for the service's top two jobs: Gen. Randy George and Gen. James Mingus. Others include Maj. Gen. John W. Brennan Jr., who is expected to be promoted and become the next deputy commander at U.S. Africa Command as it prosecutes an expansive counterterrorism mission on the continent; and Lt. Gen. Laura Potter, who is slated to take over as the director of Army Staff, coordinating work between the service and Austin's office.

Marine Corps: 18 on hold

Gen. Eric M. Smith, the Marines' assistant commandant, has served as the service's acting chief since early July. It's the first time since 1910 that there has been no Senate-confirmed commandant. Smith's would-be successor, Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney also is on hold. So is the presumed next commanding general of Marine forces in Japan, Maj. Gen. Roger Turner, another job vital to the Pentagon's China and North Korea strategies, and the next deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, Lt. Gen. James "Chip" Bierman.

Navy: 86 on hold

The Navy's frozen nominees include Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who will make history as the first woman on the Joint Chiefs if confirmed as chief of naval operations. Others on hold include Vice Adm. James Kilby, who is expected to be promoted and replace Franchetti as vice chief of naval operations; Adm. Samuel Paparo, who is slated to become the next commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, a core joint assignment responding directly to the Chinese military; and Vice Adm. Stephen T. Koehler, tapped for promotion and to become the next four-star commander at U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Space Force: 8 on hold

The Pentagon's smallest and youngest service has fewer nominees caught in the hold, but there are still several significant jobs involved. They include Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, nominated to become the next four-star commander of U.S. Space Command, and Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, tapped to be the next four-star vice chief of space operations.

Feaver, the Duke professor, said he was struck by the number of "warfighting" positions affected, notably in the Pacific. Leaving jobs like the chief of Indo-Pacific Command without a confirmed successor, he said, undermines U.S. messaging that it considers Beijing its chief competitor.

"This is a gift to China, and it's a gift that keeps giving day in and day out," Feaver said.

Feaver said the situation also leaves the United States on less steady footing with allies and partners. Numerous nominees are expected to cultivate strong relationships overseas. Of note: Brig. Gen. Charles D. Bolton, an Air Force officer nominated to become deputy commanding general of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, an organization established last year in Wiesbaden, Germany, to oversee the flow of weapons to the government in Kyiv as it fights off a Russian invasion. More than a dozen other affected jobs are spread across Europe, the data shows.

Katherine L. Kuzminski, a senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security, noted that nearly two dozen affected nominees would have oversight of U.S. military operations in the Pacific, including posts in Hawaii, South Korea and Japan.

While the military is struggling through a major recruiting crisis, Navy nominees who would have direct oversight of accessions are directly affected, Kuzminski noted. They include Rear. Adm. Jeffrey J. Czerewko, nominated to be the commander of Naval Education and Training Command, and Navy Capt. Craig T. Mattingly, up for promotion and selected to run Naval Service Training Command.

Washington Post: In Tuberville's state, one base feels the effect of his military holds
[Alexandra Heal, 8/13/23]

At the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, a major hub of the U.S. military's space and missile programs, a key officer is supposed to be leaving his post for a critical new job leading the agency responsible for America's missile defense.

But now Maj. Gen. Heath Collins's promotion is on hold — creating disruptions up and down the chain of command.

His absence means that a rear admiral normally stationed at Redstone overseeing missile testing is instead temporarily filling in as acting director of the Missile Defense Agency. Meanwhile, the brigadier general tapped to replace Collins is also stuck, forced to extend his assignment at Space Systems Command in Los Angeles rather than starting work in Huntsville.

Collins's elevation is one of 301 military promotions for jobs around the world currently blocked by the state's U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville (R), who since February has been using his power to single-handedly place "holds" on all Pentagon appointments that require Senate confirmation. Tuberville's goal, he says, is to force the military to end its policy of paying for service personnel and family stationed in states with abortion bans to travel to states where the procedure is legal if they need care.

The ripple effect up and down the chain of command from the delayed promotion of one senior leader at one installation offers a vivid illustration of what critics say is the deepening fallout from Tuberville's gambit to use his Senate "hold" power to wage a culture-war campaign over abortion policy.

It has undermined the military's long-term planning, several officials and retired generals or other veterans living near the arsenal contend, derailed the training of future leaders in highly specialized fields and disrupted the lives of military families — all of which stands to worsen the Pentagon's personnel retention struggles, his opponents claim.

If Tuberville does not budge, the number of positions blocked from Senate confirmation is set to rise to 650 by the end of the year, according to the Defense Department — a majority of the military's 852 flag and general officer positions.

[…]

Collins is one of four senior leaders either currently stationed at Redstone Arsenal or scheduled to transfer to the Alabama base whose Senate confirmations have been held up by Tuberville's hold. The Washington Post has identified at least six more service members who have had to temporarily change or extend roles, or whose career progression has been frozen, because of those four Redstone holds.

Tuberville's hold is "unprecedented," Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in an interview, adding that it is playing out in "unexpected and unhelpful ways."

Other senators have previously blocked military promotions but an official said none before had lasted this long.

Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, said that the military needs "tested leaders who are fully empowered to make tough decisions" and that the hold "undermines our military readiness."

[…]

Redstone Arsenal, named after northern Alabama's red soil, was established in 1941 as a war chemicals plant with an ordnance facility next door. After World War II, the Army found itself in need of land for developing for a new kind of military system, rockets, and brought to Huntsville a team of German scientists led by Wernher von Braun. In Huntsville, he went on to develop the rocket that launched Apollo 11 to the moon.

Today, the 60-square-mile base is home to the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command, much of the workforce of the Missile Defense Agency, as well as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and several other air- and space-focused military organizations and contractors.

The base is dotted with historic rockets, including von Braun's V2 and a Saturn 1B, one of the family of Apollo launch vehicles. It is still an active test site for rockets engines, javelins and explosives.

According to the Arsenal's public affairs office, 45,000 civilians including contractors work on the base every day, as well as 800 military personnel, including a number of higher ranking officers responsible for directing operations.

One of those leaders is Collins, who from Redstone currently oversees the Missile Defense Agency's ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, positioned to counter potential threats from North Korea and Iran. He was nominated to assume command of the whole agency in May.

With an annual budget of around $11 billion, the agency is responsible for developing, testing and procuring the country's defenses against ballistic missiles. The agency has not gone without a Senate-confirmed director since its creation in 2002, said Singh, the Pentagon deputy press secretary.

Without a full three-star general at the top — as Collins will be after his promotion — the agency's credibility in military planning and ability to set long-term strategy will suffer, Wormuth said. The rear admiral acting as director was only recently promoted to one-star.

"Rank matters," she said.

A spokesperson for the agency said Collins was not available to comment.

Another Redstone leader awaiting senate confirmation is Col. David Philips, who is scheduled to become a top Army aviation officer, responsible for developing new airborne vehicles, such as helicopters, and supporting existing ones. His job too is being filled on an acting basis.

Vincent Boles, a retired major general who now coaches contractors at Redstone Arsenal, suggested that having an acting leader would hamper the office from plotting a new long-term vision. He said he had performed military roles on an acting basis during his career and would always question for "how long."

"Am I going to make massive strategic decisions that make a significant impact over the next 20 to 30 years?" he said. "Or do I just want to keep the trains running on time?"

Another Redstone organization impacted by the holds is the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command, responsible for the soldiers who defend the United States against potential intercontinental ballistic missile attacks.

Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey was nominated in January to take over the command but with his promotion on hold, Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler has postponed a planned retirement to remain in charge.

"I'm going to continue to serve, continue to give it my all and set a good example for everybody to follow," said Karbler, who did not otherwise comment on his predicament.

In the Redstone world of space and missile defense, leaders have received highly technical training and only two or three are groomed for top roles — meaning there are fewer with proper qualifications to fill vacancies, said a Senate Committee on Armed Services staffer.

To get such an officer ready for top roles, Wormuth said their career path is plotted "years in advance."

"It has ripple effects all the way down the line, especially on mid-grade officers such as colonels," said a senior leader of the Space and Missile Defense Command who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to be quoted.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a retired Army officer and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said younger officers may now fear missing out the chance to gain key experience. He added that some may question why they should stay if they are now "just a political pawn," given many will have "no problems walking out of the military getting very significant jobs."

[…]

Jimmy Sam, an Army veteran who lives in Huntsville, said he thought Tuberville's blocking of military-career progression would be unpalatable to personnel stationed in the state. "If you're from Alabama, your own senator didn't vote for you to get promoted," he said.

[…]

This week, Karbler addressed the annual the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, where fatigue-clad troops rubbed shoulders with defense contactors offering solutions such as "directed energy" technology that brings down weapons with lasers or microwaves.

But, as he opened his address, the officer putting off his retirement as head of the Space and Missile Defense Command because of politics wryly alluded to his circumstance.

"I'm truly excited to be with all of you here this morning," he told the crowd, adding: "Still."

CNN: Three US military services without Senate-confirmed chiefs for first time in history
[Haley Britzky, 8/14/23]

Another US military service chief has relinquished command without a Senate-confirmed replacement in place, marking the first time in the Defense Department's history that three services are operating without a confirmed senior military officer in place.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday relinquished command on Monday. His nominated replacement, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, is one of more than 300 military officers whose promotions are being stalled by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, in protest of Pentagon reproductive health policies.

Franchetti will serve as the acting Chief of Naval Operations in the absence of her Senate confirmation.

Gilday's relinquishment follows the retirement and relinquishment of command by former Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville on August 4, and former Marine Corps Commandant David Berger last month.

"Because of this blanket hold, starting today, for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, three of our military services are operating without Senate-confirmed leaders," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday at Gilday's relinquishment ceremony. "This is unprecedented. It is unnecessary. And it is unsafe."

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro echoed Austin's sentiment, saying it is "well past time" for the Senate to address the outstanding nominations.

"Not doing so will continue to degrade our readiness and will even put the very lives – yes, the very lives of our servicemen and women, your young men and women – at risk by not allowing our most experienced warfighters to lead," Del Toro said. "The American people deserve to have their best military leaders in place, and in our Department of the Navy that includes a confirmed Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps."

Franchetti, who has been serving as the vice chief of naval operations, would be the first woman in the CNO seat, and the first woman on the joint chiefs of staff. She has previously served as the commander of US Naval Forces Korea, deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development, director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy of the Joint Staff, and commanded two carrier strike groups.

During Monday's ceremony, Gilday said that Franchetti is a "warfighter with combat experience" and "operational leader" who has made the Navy better.

"She's a strategist, she's an innovator, she's a team builder, she's a trailblazer, she's an example of personal and professional resilience and a testament to the power of American dream to inspire service and sacrifice," Gilday said. "I can't wait to see what is next for her as she's leading our Navy … I will be proud to call her my CNO."

Pentagon officials, including Austin, have repeatedly warned of the consequences of Tuberville's ongoing hold, saying it would impact national security by not allowing the right leaders to take their positions at the right time.

In a memo to the force earlier this month, Austin said that lower-ranking officers may be assigned to lead organizations in the absence of Senate-confirmed commanders, and that three- and four-star officers would not be able to leave their current roles.

"I understand that these steps will not end or offset the risk to our readiness or our global leadership position," Austin wrote. "Nor will they resolve the uncertainty and stress inflicted upon our general and flag officers and their families, or alleviate the worries rippling further down our ranks."

Tuberville has not budged on his position, saying that the Pentagon is violating law with the reproductive health policies that include, among other things, a travel allowance for troops and their families who must travel to receive an abortion because of the state laws where they are stationed. Pentagon officials have pointed to a Justice Department memo that says the policies are lawful.

Tuberville has said that all of the positions awaiting Senate-confirmed leaders "are being done. My holds are NOT affecting national security." He also said last month he "didn't start" the fight and is "trying to get politics out of the military."

By the end of this year, there will be more than 600 military officers up for nomination – and thus far, there is no end in sight to Tuberville's hold. That hold includes the nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, who is expected to take over for Army Gen. Mark Milley.

"Our troops deserve better," Austin said Monday. "Our military families deserve better. Our allies and partners deserve better. And our national security deserves better."

AL.com: Tuberville's military holds impact Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville
[Lee Roop, 8/12/23]

Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military promotions is hitting close to home.

Five military commands or defense program offices at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal are being led by officers who do not have the rank their position requires or are staying past their regular tours of duty because of Tuberville's hold, according to a Defense Department official who spoke to AL.com this week.

"It's hurting the military, so consequently it would be hurting Redstone Arsenal, yes," Maj. Gen. (retired) Jim Pillsbury told AL.com Wednesday. "We're playing musical chairs with senior folks both in uniform and in the civilian ranks to try to fill some holes."

"I have talked with his folks that are here in north Alabama," Pillsbury said. "What we'd like to do is assure that the nation's security is not being adversely affected by this."

In Huntsville, the largest command affected is the U.,S. Army Space and Missile Command with 2,600 soldiers and civilians

"The ongoing confirmation holds on military nominees adds workload challenges and stressors to military families," Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday.

"During this time, the Missile Defense Agency has been forced to reassign key leadership positions while we await Senate confirmation of the next director of MDA," Singh said. "This is the first time the Missile Defense Agency has been without a Senate-confirmed Director since the establishment of MDA in 2002. "

[…]

Beyond Alabama, there are also 83 three- and four-star promotion nominations pending in the next 150 days, a defense department official said, including the Director of the National Security Agency, Commander of CYBERCOM and the commander of NORTHCOM, one of the country's combatant commands based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Offices, officers and positions affected at Redstone in Huntsville are:

Army Col. David C. Phillips, awaiting promotion from colonel to brigadier general, the rank normally in command of the 94-member to the Army Program Executive Officer for the Program Executive Office-Aviation

Air Force Maj. Gen. Heath A. Collins, awaiting promotion to lieutenant general, the rank normally associated with the director of the 237-member Missile Defense Agency.

Brig Gen. Donald J. Cothren, United States Fleet Forces Command, awaiting promotion to major general to Program Executive, Programs and Integration, Missile Defense Agency.

Army Brig. Gen. Christine A. Beeler, awaiting promotion to major general the rank normally in command of the Army Contracting Command.

The pushback against the Tuberville freeze is growing among retired generals living in Huntsville who say it isn't working.

Maj. Gen. (retired) Jim Myles said his concern for Tuberville is that he'll miss opportunities "down the road for collaboration" with Democrats. That could affect Alabama, as well.

Retired General Jim Rogers, a former Redstone senior commander, told CNN this month that "Someone has given (Tuberville) bad advice. It affects everyone. It affects the nation, it affects every community like this."

"I am very concerned our senator is getting led down a path that he does not understand the full impact for the military, and I just recommend that he reconsider that," he said.

One large Alabama military installation not affected by the holds - at least for now - is Fort Novosel, formerly Fort Rucker, and the "Home of Army Aviation" in the Wiregrass. A Pentagon spokesman said, "Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry assumed command a year ago and will remain in command for another year as scheduled."

Cleveland.com: Ohio military promotions stalled because of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold
[Sabrina Eaton, 8/7/23]

Hundreds of military promotions around the country including several at Dayton's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have been stalled for months by a U.S. Senator who objects to the Defense Department's policy of funding abortion-related travel and paid time off for service members.

The hold from U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, is delaying pay raises and job transfers for 301 officers around the country, says Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. For those who are relocating between military bases, Tuberville's hold has left their moves, spousal job searches, and children's school enrollment decisions in limbo, says Singh.

"We have folks that could be moving from Colorado, to Japan or Africa," says Singh. "Their moves are on hold. Their spouses need to get jobs in their new states or countries, and their kids need to be enrolled in school, but it is hard to do that if you don't know where you're going to be living."

Singh said five of the stalled promotions affect officers who are remaining at the Ohio military base or are due to be transferred there, with even more likely to be affected the longer Tuberville refuses to allow the promotions […]

He says his hold forces the Senate to consider and vote on the nominations by regular order, considering each one individually, instead of approving them in batches by unanimous consent. Doing so would greatly increase the time it takes for approvals. Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed of Rhode Island says it "it would take months and months of exclusive voting on these nominations to clear this list, while another list is building up."

[…]

"Our service members don't have a choice of the state they're assigned to," said Singh. "If they are serving in Texas, they should have the same health care rights as someone serving in California."

None of the Wright-Patterson officers whose transfers and promotions have been held up responded to requests for comment made through public affairs officers at Wright-Patterson and the Pentagon.

"As this is a political matter, we politely decline comment," said an Air Force spokesman at Wright-Patterson.

According to the Pentagon, the first Wright-Patterson promotion affected by the hold was Col. Jason D. Voorheis' Jan. 26 nomination to become a brigadier general. Voorheis currently serves as the senior military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the Pentagon. When his promotion goes through, he'd be Special Assistant to Commander at Wright-Patterson's Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

On Feb. 3, President Joe Biden nominated Col. Michael T. McGinley, who currently serves as the mobilization assistant to the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, to be a brigadier general who would remain at the base.

In March, Biden nominated Brig. Gen. Scott A. Cain, who currently serves as director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations at the Wright-Patterson Headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command, to become a major general who would serve as commander of the base's Air Force Research Laboratory.

In May, Biden nominated Maj. Gen. Linda S. Hurry to move up from her current post in the Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection office at Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C., to become a lieutenant general assigned as deputy commander of Wright-Patterson's Air Force Materiel Command.

Also in May, Biden nominated Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton, who currently serves in the Pentagon's Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), to instead be assigned as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson's Air Force Materiel Command without a change in rank.

Biden has repeatedly protested Tuberville's hold on military promotions and urged the Senate to approve all outstanding military nominees as quickly as possible.

"It has long been an article of faith in this country that supporting our servicemembers and their families, and providing for the strength of our national defense, transcends politics," said a statement from Biden.

"What Senator Tuberville is doing is not only wrong—it is dangerous. In this moment of rapidly evolving security environments and intense competition, he is risking our ability to ensure that the United States Armed Forces remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And his Republican colleagues in the Senate know it."

[…]

Air Force Sec. Charles Q. Brown Jr., whose appointment to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff could be held up by Tuberville, last month told the Senate Armed Services committee that he expects the military will "lose talent" as junior officers whose promotions are currently too low-level to require Senate confirmation decide to leave the military before they reach that level rather than having their lives put in limbo by a Senate hold.

He also said it is hurting the ability of younger officers to get experience and gain promotions and is keeping officers who want to retire from leaving their posts to help the military mitigate the challenge of not being able to fill vacancies that would be created by their departures.

"I think that we do need to think about is how it impacts our families because it has an impact not just for the senior officer, but all their staff and all those below them," said Brown.