The U.S Army Reserve says the suspension of a commander at Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy isn’t tied to an investigation of pictures of President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth being tampered with.
On April 14, a Department of Defense social media account posted about what it called the “Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy.” The post showed a display of photos at the military base with pictures of Trump and Hegseth turned around facing the wall, while pictures of other military commanders remained visible.
On April 18, it was reported that Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez had been suspended as garrison commander at Fort McCoy. She was the base’s first female garrison commander when taking the helm in July 2024.
On Monday, 88th Readiness Division Director of Public Affairs Chris Hanson confirmed the suspension while stating it wasn’t related to any misconduct.
Another statement issued Wednesday evening by U.S. Army Reserve and Fort McCoy Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Ricciardi said Baez Ramirez was suspended for “administrative reasons.”
“The investigation into the Leader Board incident at Fort McCoy is ongoing,” the statement said. “To reiterate, no one on the Fort McCoy leadership team, which includes Col. Baez-Ramirez, directed or supported the removal of any leader portraits. The Leader Board was corrected upon notification of the issue.”
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The statement said Baez Ramirez’s suspension “won’t have any impact on Fort McCoy’s training mission,” which is expected to include nearly 75,000 service members this year.
Hanson told WPR that Ft. McCoy’s deputy to the base’s garrison commander has temporarily filled Baez Ramirez’s role.
Since April 1, a least seven military leaders at bases around the U.S. have been removed from their posts for reported “loss of confidence” in their ability to lead, according to reporting by Military.com. An April 7 article from the website reported on “a growing purge of top-ranking military officials by the Trump administration.”
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