Trump ally and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) responded to the U.S. Army’s plan, described in a The Hill report, “to phase out a drone unit that was studying and incorporating lessons from foreign wars, including the use of uncrewed systems in the Russia-Ukraine war.”
Gingrich wrote on social media: “The US Army is making a terrible mistake. Congress should immediately look into it and Secretary of War Hegseth should intervene and reverse the Army’s amazingly backwards and destructive decision.”
The US Army is making a terrible mistake. Ciongress should immediately look into it and Secretary of War Hegseth should intervene and reverse the Army’s amazingly backwards and destructive decision. As the Hill reported “The U.S. Army plans to phase out a drone unit that was…
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) August 23, 2026
According to The Hill report, titled ‘Army plans to phase out drone unit championed by sacked generals,’ which Gingrich cited: “The infantry battalion, known as the Unmanned Assault Battalion, will participate at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center this month and next month in Germany. After the exercises, the battalion will ‘refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion assigned to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne).’”
[NOTE: The unit was championed by former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Gen. Chris Donahue, former commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. Both generals were ousted in restructuring under Defense Secretary Hegseth.]
Gingrich added: “This is as dumb as the French decision to use tanks as infantry support systems which led to their annihilation by German armor operating in teams.”