The U.S. Army has suspended Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez, the first female commander of Fort McCoy, after portraits of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were turned to face the wall on the base’s leadership wall.

The Department of Defense (DOD) drew attention to the incident on April 14 by posting photos on X, showing two images next to each other: one of the portraits facing the wall and another of the portraits reversed with the caption, “We Fixed it!”

The post also added that an investigation was underway to determine what led to the display being altered. 

An investigation has been launched to find out why the portraits were facing the wall

Image credits: DODResponse

Following this, a statement was posted on Fort McCoy’s website that said the matter is “under review,” with an assurance that the suspension is not related to the photos but rather due to administrative reasons. 

Just days after this controversy, the U.S. Army publicly celebrated the legacy and contributions of women in its ranks. 

Image credits: U.S. Army

“Our diversity… makes the all-volunteer force the most-ready and powerful in the world,” said Gen. James McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army.

Baez Ramirez is a representation of just how far women have come in the Army. 

She has served as chief of the Reserve Program for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir and has been recognized with the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Korean Defense Medal. 

Image credits: DODResponse

She assumed command at Fort McCoy in July 2024.

The controversy sparked by her suspension also comes at a time when veterans and military communities have expressed their disappointment in the Trump administration’s treatment of their service.

In a recent feature by French paper Le Monde, U.S. veterans accused Trump of disrespecting them.

Baez Ramirez’s suspension comes after veterans said Trump looks down on them

Image credits: starsandstripes

“He looks down on us,” said Charles Wynder, an 84-year-old Vietnam veteran in Virginia.

The article echoes Trump’s history of disparaging the military, including his alleged comments labeling fallen U.S. troops as “suckers” and “losers,” as first reported by The Atlantic in 2020.

In the present, veterans like Angela McConnell, who has 22 years of Army service and leads an organization representing 4,500 Virginia veterans, said many are “all scared to lose their job.” 

This comes amid DOGE cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Image credits: White House / Flickr

While the Army insists that Sheyla Baez Ramirez was not removed from her post over the portrait incident, the optics of allegedly suspending a barrier-breaking female commander over a symbolic incident are far from ideal for the DOD.