Pentagon appointment dispute deepens as Army officials mock acting secretary Telle

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle is seeking to keep the post permanently, despite reports that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wants his spokesman Sean Parnell for the job. The dispute is the latest sign of a broader struggle over senior appointments at the Pentagon, and matters because the Army secretary oversees the training and equipment of the US Army.

The article says some Army officials have circulated insulting nicknames for Telle in a group chat, citing his lack of military service and his reported opposition to a firing squad execution for Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan. Telle, a former Capitol Hill aide and White House official, took over after Dan Driscoll’s departure; Parnell is an Army veteran who served from 2004 to 2010 and received two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. The article attributes the account to unnamed officials, and its text ends while describing political support for Parnell.