This is yet another example of the instability and dysfunction that have come to characterize the Department of Defense under Trump. Phelan was a hedge fund manager with zero military experience running one of the most operationally complex branches of the armed forces — that mismatch was always going to be a problem. Being a major donor and art collector doesn't translate into understanding the Navy or Marine Corps. Hung Cao is a retired Navy veteran who actually knows the institution he's now leading.