The US Army has suspended former head of communications Lt Gen (r) Gary Volesky for taunting first lady Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights.
Army spokesperson said the commander of the military branch’s combined arms center, Lt Gen Theodore Martin, had suspended Volesky from his consultancy pending an investigation into whether the tweet in question violated decorum rules for retired officers.
The tweet was in response to Biden’s June 24 tweet about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, in which the first lady lamented the decision’s impact on women.
For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make our own decisions about our bodies.
Today, that right was stolen from us.
And while we may be devastated by this injustice, we will not be silent. We will not sit back as the progress we have already won slips away.
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 24, 2022
An account under Volesky’s name replied: “Glad to see you finally know what a woman is.” Some on the platform interpreted the remark as a verbal potshot at the Biden White House’s support for the transgender community.
Before retiring in 2020, Volesky was in charge of US ground forces in Iraq and headed the army’s famed 101st Airborne Division, which is perhaps best known for being at the tip of the spear during the invasion of Normandy in the second world war.
