Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

SFL, an outreach unit that supports and promotes services and programs for soldiers, veterans, and their families, recognized her in a post that was later deleted. The post recounted Duckworth’s life story, beginning with her childhood in Asia, and featured a photo of her in military fatigues.

You can see it below.

Soldier for Life/Facebook

But the post soon caught the attention of Duckworth's critics, particularly former army veteran and GOP influencer Chase Spears, who called Duckworth a "hostile partisan" and said she "is a vet, but one who has dedicated her career to division and infantile displays in the halls of Congress."

Spears added:

"There are so many warriors worthy of being praised, men and women who didn't sell their souls along the way. But this is who [Dan Driscoll's] Army continues going out of its way to pay homage to."

You can see his post below.

Shortly afterward, a Defense Department source said Army official Driscoll ordered the shutdown of all social media accounts tied to the SFL unit.

An Army spokesperson said the account was taken offline because it wasn’t properly managed by qualified personnel, noting this was part of a broader effort already underway.

Under a 2025 directive and a memo issued in December, the Army has been closing hundreds of poorly managed, inactive, or unofficial accounts and requiring that any remaining public-facing accounts be overseen by designated public affairs professional—or be deactivated and archived.

Many reacted angrily to the news.

Neither Driscoll nor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth care for Duckworth, who voted against confirming their appointments in the Senate last year.

Meanwhile, Hegseth and Driscoll have been engaged in a growing power struggle, intensified by the firing of senior Army leaders.

The rivalry deepened after Driscoll—an ally of JD Vance—was tapped to help negotiate with Ukraine, while Hegseth has reportedly grown more wary in recent weeks following President Donald Trump’s dismissal of Cabinet officials like Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem.