I give General Donahue 4 stars

Over the last few months, I’ve read a great deal about how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been transforming the military. Yesterday, I read that he has essentially forced Gen. Chris Donahue into retirement.

I met Gen. Donahue three years ago in Draguignan, France. I was there to participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at a U.S. military cemetery where my grand-uncle, Staff Sgt. Leo DeGraw, is memorialized. He and his squad were shot down on Dec. 5, 1943.

Before the official ceremony began, my French hosts and I stood beside a wreath and a photo of Leo while waiting for Donahue to come over. My hosts — Willy, a retired colonel, and Michel, an active-duty captain — became ramrod straight when Donahue approached.

After we were introduced, I shook his hand and told him I was honored to meet him.

“I am honored to meet you,” he replied. “Honored that you came to France to pay your respects to a family member, a fallen member of our services.”

Donahue then placed his other hand on my shoulder and said, “Tell me about your family member.”

For the next several minutes, as I told him about Leo, I felt as though everyone else around us had disappeared. Donahue was so focused on what I was saying, and he asked questions that showed he was fully engaged in our conversation. The hundreds of other people — the U.S. military band from Germany, senior U.S. officers, French officers from Paris, the mayor of Draguignan, members of the French Parliament and the pilots about to fly over — all seemed to vanish as we talked.

It was the most intense and remarkable lesson in leadership I have ever experienced.

At the reception following the ceremony, I spoke with a group of U.S. soldiers who were clearly uncomfortable socializing with senior officers and who did not speak French. I thought I’d give them a taste of home. As we chatted, I asked what they thought of Donahue.Every one of them said he was the kind of leader you followed not because he outranked you, but because he inspired you.

I spoke with Donahue again at the reception and asked whether I could take a photo with him. After a couple of pictures, he laughed and said, “Come on, Robb, smile for the next ones.”

Donahue earned his fourth star some time after I met him. I have no doubt he will land on his feet after his “retirement” from the Army.

I am equally convinced that the military will be a less effective fighting force without a leader who inspires rather than merely commands.