US Army Lt. Gene. Gary Volesky talks to reporters after a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state on April 3, 2017. The military has suspended Volesky over a recent tweet in response to the first lady.
Ted S. Warren/AP
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Ted S. Warren/AP
US Army Lt. Gene. Gary Volesky talks to reporters after a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state on April 3, 2017. The military has suspended Volesky over a recent tweet in response to the first lady.
Ted S. Warren/AP
The US military has suspended a top former spokesperson from an advisory position and investigated him after he posted a tweet that appeared to make fun of Jill Biden on a recent comment from the first lady about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn it Roe v. Wade†
Retired Lieutenant General Gary Volesky’s tweet was in response to a June 24 statement posted to the first lady’s Twitter account following the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Glad to see you finally know what a woman is,” Volesky replied, according to USA today, who first reported the story† The tweet has since been deleted.
His comment seemed to echo an exchange of views between Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., during a March hearing for Jackson. Blackburn forced Jackson to define the word “woman” in reference to transgender rights.
For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make our own decisions about our bodies.
Today that right has been stolen from us.
And while we may be heartbroken at this injustice, we won’t be silent. We will not sit back, because the progress we have already made is slipping away.
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 24, 2022
Volesky was on a $92-an-hour contract with the military and served as a senior mentor advising top military officers and other personnel on war game strategy and other military activities, according to the USA today report.
The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but issued a statement to: USA today† spokeswoman Cynthia Smith confirmed that Volesky had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. Attempts to reach Volesky were not immediately successful.
Volesky is a decorated, retired three-star general who received one of the military’s highest awards, the Silver Star, for his bravery in Iraq. He also served in the Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan.
He was in command of the Army’s I Corps, one of its top formations. He was also commander of the 101st Airborne Division.
Volesky was the chief of the Army’s Public Affairs Division from 2012 to 2014, retiring in 2020.
The tweet wasn’t Volesky’s first time posting about politics. In 2021, he responded to a tweet from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol bombing. USA today†
“I am honored to serve on the January 6 select committee. Our oath to the Constitution must be above partisan politics,” Cheney tweeted.
“This is all about party politics,” Volesky tweeted in response, according to USA today†