It was bound to happen.
Once you reach the ranks of Four Star General, but get FIRED by the President of the United States, you pretty much call it a career. And that’s exactly what he did.
On Monday, former Afghan war Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, announced that he is retiring from the Army and returning to private life. After receiving the type of public whipping reprimand from the Commander in Chief as McChrystal did from Mr. Obama, he really had no other choice.
But McChrystal will likely face months of obstacles before his resignation from the Army can be official, and it won’t be smooth sailing. He was promoted to the selective rank of Four Star General last year, but with time not on his side he may not be able to retain that rank in retirement. Under Army rules, a general must serve at least 3 years as a Four Star officer to retain that rank, prestige and retirement benefits. McChrystal is nearly 2 years shy of that requirement. Although the Secretary of the Army can allow officers with as little as 2 years of service to keep their rank in retirement, McChrystal will still be a year short of that waiver. So for him, retirement will almost certainly mean demotion.
