Comment The US military has suspended retired Lt. Gen. Gary Volesky, his former communications chief, from his coaching role and placed him under investigation after he posted a tweet that appeared to mock first lady Jill Biden’s tweet about the Supreme Court’s recent abortion decision. The tweet was in response to Biden’s June 24 tweet about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wadein which the first lady lamented the decision’s impact on women. “Glad to see you finally know what a woman is,” Volesky responded in a since-deleted tweet, according to USA Today, which reported the news earlier Saturday. For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make our own decisions about our bodies. Today we were robbed of that right. And while we may be devastated by this injustice, we will not be silent. We will not be left behind as the progress we have already won slips away. — Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 24, 2022 Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith told The Washington Post in a statement that Lt. Gen. Theodore Martin, commander of the Combined Arms Center, suspended Volesky from his senior mentor contract “pending the outcome of the commander’s investigation.” In the role, Volesky was among retired military officers or senior retired civilian officers who offer guidance and training to Army officers, staff and students. Volesky did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday afternoon. The White House declined to comment. Arizona GOP candidate who criticized drag was once a fan, drag queen says Volesky, 60, is a decorated officer with a long military career. Before retiring from the Army and being hired as a mentor, Volesky commanded I Corps, a major Army formation, and led Joint Base Lewis-McChord from 2017 to 2020. From 2014 to 2017, he commanded the 101st Airborne Division, known for role on D-Day during World War II. From 2012 to 2014, he was the chief of the public affairs division of the Army. Volesky served in the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. He was awarded the Silver Star, the military’s third highest combat decoration, for his participation in military efforts in northeast Baghdad. He is an advisory board member for Unified Business Technologies, a Michigan-based information technology company. Volesky’s response to Biden’s tweet echoes an interaction between Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings this year. Blackburn, who criticized a bill to strengthen LGBTQ protections, pressed Jackson to define the word “woman” in relation to transgender rights. Transgender issues have come into new focus in its wake Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, particularly regarding the use of the word “women” to describe people affected by abortion restrictions. Critics of transgender women — sometimes called trans-exclusive radical feminists (TERFs) — have decried what they say is an inability to call themselves “women” as gender-inclusive language becomes more prevalent. On Monday, entertainers Bette Midler and Macy Gray were criticized for their recent comments on transgender issues. Bette Midler and Macy Gray upset transgender advocates. Here’s why. Volesky has posted other political tweets, including a July 2021 response to a tweet by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in which she announced she would serve on the select committee to investigate the attack on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. He wrote, “Our oath to the Constitution must be above party politics.” Political messages from retired military personnel are not new. In 2016, retired Marine Gen. John Allen endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, while retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn called for Clinton to be jailed and later served as Trump’s national security adviser before being fired for lying to federal investigators. . In 2019, retired general Stanley McChrystal called Trump “immoral” and said he didn’t believe the then-president was real. Retired Admiral William McRaven wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post in 2020 criticizing Trump for undermining “every important American institution.”