Fired top U.S. military General Stanley McChrystal has sought to hang his fighting boots and has applied for premature retirement from the Army.
The General who was the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was fired last week by President Barack Obama for making disparaging comments in an article.
The 55-year-old four-star general told the Army that he will retire, Army spokesman Gary Tallman said.
But, whether he will be allowed to retain his four-star ranking was not known. Under Army rules, generals have to serve three years as a four-star officer to retain that rank.
Gen. McChrystal was replaced last Wednesday by Mr. Obama after disclosure of a magazine article in which the general and top aides disparaged top administration officials including Vice-President Joe Biden and National Security Adviser Jim Jones.
Mr. Obama, also the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces, who summoned Gen. McChrystal to the White House, said the general exhibited poor judgement.
“The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that’s necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama had said while announcing Gen. McChrystal’s replacement.
Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. Central Command head, was named to replace Gen. McChrystal in Afghanistan.
