22-07-2025
Trump intervenes to boost Hegseth aide who left military for politics
President Donald Trump will allow one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's top advisers to sidestep legal requirements and retire from the military at a rank he held only briefly, apparently setting aside suspicions about the aide's political loyalties raised in conservative media, officials familiar with the matter said.
The military retirement of Marine Corps Col. Ricky D. Buria became official this month, service officials said in an email to The Washington Post. Absent any disciplinary action, he will be considered a colonel in perpetuity despite having served in the rank only since November 2024. Federal law requires most military officers with his standing to hold a rank for three years before they may retire with it, though there are exceptions that allow the president to intervene through a waiver in cases 'involving extreme hardship or exceptional or unusual circumstances.'
