From a stage in Quantico, Virginia at the end of September, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth announced to the leaders of the US military and to the world that US military would no longer be subject to the pervasive culture of “walking on eggshells” that had infiltrated and inundated all levels and branches of the armed forces in recent years.
That culture, also known as “zero-defect culture” – in which leaders are hesitant and even patently refuse to lead to their full potential for fear of being persecuted or even prosecuted for perceived slights and hurt feelings – had led to an atmosphere of fear and, at some level, allowed the inmates to run the asylum. But no more.
"We are liberating an inspector general process — the 'IG' — that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver's seat," Hegseth told his audience September 30.
Despite those stirring words, delivered over 45 minutes to a watching world, as we approach Christmas and the end of 2025, and Year 1 of the Trump presidency, one man, Brigadier General Christopher Sage of the United States Air Force, is on the precipice of being forcibly retired for those very same issues.
In fact, unless something changes in the next two weeks, with a December 31 deadline looming, General Sage’s career, his livelihood, his service record, will all be wiped out. The second most decorated fighter pilot in active duty military could be permanently retired with a stroke of an autopen.
Sage’s fight began in the height of the Covid-19 insanity that had enveloped the US and most of the world. In 2021, General Sage was deployed to the Middle East to oversee air support for the Afghanistan withdrawal.
While stateside, citizens were still being harassed by mandatory masking rules, vax mandates and enforced “social distancing”, foreign soil, Sage soon found, was something even more bizarre.
“When I first showed up on base, I asked how the Covid patients were doing,” Sage explained. “They said they’re in an isolation tent. When I walked up to the tent, they had put barbed wire around the tent. I asked about that, they said we have to make sure no one gets in.”
The internment camp-style setting would have been shocking enough for Sage, but as he tried to go in to see the patients, he was stopped, and only allowed to enter the isolation tent if he wore a full hazmat suit and gloves. He would ultimately don the suit, but not the gloves and when he shook hands with the half dozen or so servicemen, the doctors on base about lost it, he added.
For Sage, who said that he even was vaccinated prior to his deployment – a decision he now says he regrets – his averse reaction to the isolation tent was not an out-of-pocket attempt to buck the system. It was not to stick it to the libs. It was simply common sense to him that a barbed wire fence around a tent was overkill for soldiers sick with Covid.
His fight for common sense did not end there, though. During his tenure Sage said that he also reopened all the gyms on base – becoming the first location to do so – and signed an edict removing the requirements for wearing masks outdoors.
“I was doing research that masks didn’t work, especially those Chinese masks that everyone was wearing,” Sage said. “One thing after another, I made prudent decisions that were good for our airmen, that were common sense.”
These decisions were also ones that were backed up by his superiors and allowed to stand despite their deviation from the Biden administration policies in-force at the time.
With that backdrop, what came next was truly shocking and disturbing. It was sent down the line that the Pentagon was opening an investigation against General Sage.
That investigation turned out to be seven near-criminal allegations against Sage that were made by soldiers under his command. Six allegations were for Fraud, Waste and Abuse, while the seventh alleged a “hostile work environment.” Seven allegations that all came to absolutely nothing by the end of it all.
The following is an excerpt from a summary report filed by Sage’s original lawyer Lt Col Matthew Bush:
“If you read the overall numbers of the survey using your common knowledge and understanding of the ways of the world, you cannot reasonably conclude that the “depth and breadth of the discontent” supported a prevailing attitude that the command climate was unhealthy under Brig Gen Sage. This unofficial morale survey generated a 19.5% response rate with 72.63% agreeing at varying levels (with 7.63% having no opinion) that morale is high and the individual feels like a member of the team.”
Undeterred, Nolan Corpuz, the IG who undertook the investigation at the Pentagon did not let the allegations die, having no evidence to move forward. Rather, Corpuz put together a completely separate allegation and proceeded to investigate General Sage for a “Failure to Maintain a Healthy Command Climate.”
“The investigation itself, the biggest issue was there were essentially seven allegations that were made by someone who was upset with him because he was questioning the covid stuff, and it was clear that that was the case,” said Davis Younts, the lawyer currently defending Sage. “So they thoroughly investigated all of those. And then they moved the target. So the investigating officer didn't find any of those original seven, but changed the focus of the investigation to something else, and then that resulted in the finding against him. So it is fair to say there was a finding of essentially a toxic environment, which is a very generalized problematic thing.”
The judgment leveled against Sage, according to the General, was essentially the result of five or six people under his command that didn’t appreciate his leadership style.
“I asked 70 people, 66 wrote to the Air Force character letters supporting me, many of them were from that deployment,” Sage said. “My chain of command supported me, many of the letters were very supportive of me. (My detractors) claimed a hostile work environment, but there is no evidence of that. Because of 3-5 people saying ‘we don’t like his leadership style, he doesn’t trust us.’ There is no evidence for the seven allegations, but (Corpuz) started over with his own investigation. 11 months later, after the deployment was over.”
That 11-month process was not the only oddity about the case brought against Sage. The summary penned by Lt Col Bush laid out no fewer than 15 examples of legal missteps, irregularities and outright bias and “tunnel vision” by Mr. Corpuz.
The fact that the deployment was finished prior to opening the new investigation was one. Another was the fact that Corpuz never once left Washington D.C. to investigate on-site – a standard operating procedure for all similar investigations.
Another particularly damning example was the fact that of the 29 witnesses presented by Sage and his team, the IG interviewed only four at most, and included none of their testimonies in his final report.
Regardless, Corpuz moved forward with his judgment and Sage was confirmed by the Pentagon’s investigation to be guilty of ”failing to maintain a healthy command climate” under the broad and confusing web of definitions that term brings with it.
Despite the judgment, Sage continued (and still does) to serve as a Brigadier General in the Air Force, and even was added to the promotion list to be elevated to Major General in 2021.
That promotion, though, was suddenly and shockingly stricken down by President Biden in March 2024.
It was clear to Sage and others that the removal from the promotion list was directly related to the investigation.
“Once you have the black mark against you that’s the kiss of death,” Sage said.
To add insult to injury, it was clear to Sage and his lawyer team that Sage had fallen victim to the infamous Joe Biden autopen.
More than merely missing a well-earned promotion to Major General, the removal from the promotion list also started an irreversible countdown to a forcible retirement set to take effect December 31, 2025.
While those events seemed to have left Sage with no recourse and a case that was dead in the water, the election of President Trump in November, 2024, and the wave of executive orders signed upon his inauguration, suddenly breathed new life in the legal case of General Sage.
The executive order overturning Biden-era policies around Covid-19 primarily allowed for the reinstatement of discharged servicemen and women. But it also included a provision to remove the adverse effects of judgements surrounding Covid policies. This was made possible by bringing cases before a Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR).
Sage explained that the process was essentially to bring a packet of information, investigations, personal accounts, letters of recommendation, allegations of misconduct – all of it – to the Air Force’s BCMR.
The decision was finalized and released in late 2025 that by a 2-1 vote, the board found that the case against General Sage was illegitimate, that he was the target of onerous Covid-era policies, and that immediate relief should be granted to him, allowing him to be restored to the promotion list and to remain as an active duty member of the military beyond the end of the year.
That decision and recommendation to the Air Force leadership should have meant the restoration of a long-standing and well-respected General and combat veteran.
Instead, what followed was something inexplicable to Sage and his lawyer team. By the unilateral action of Richard Anderson, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force’s Manpower and Reserve Affairs, relief was denied.
Breaking: After 4 years of fighting the good fight, we won at the AFBCMR, by God's grace! But the Pentagon just overturned their own board results! I will now be force-retired in 22 days!
— Chris Sage (@sageideas) December 9, 2025
We are not done fighting! God is sovereign and in full control! Watch the full story here -…
“He did exactly what he was supposed to do, to go to the board of corrections,” Younts said. “He won, and that was ripped away from him without explanation. And to be honest, we're seeing that, and you can, of course, quote me on this, but we are seeing that on the Air Force side. We are seeing the Air Force fail to come through on the promises of the administration.”
The reasoning given by Anderson was that the original judgment had nothing to do with Covid-19. Something that is laughably false to Sage.
“The new allegation was not related to the Covid issues publicly,” Sage said. “But on a copy of the leaked report, one of the large cohorts (Corpuz) interviewed was the medical personnel who did not like what I was doing.
“A lot of the investigation focused on my response to Covid. ‘Sir, every time you ask a question about Covid, you’re getting political. You need to stop being political.’ That quote was used against me.”
Anderson’s decision, coming in November, left Sage with the gut punch of having won his case in front of the board only to have that decision overturned. But worse than that, the December 31 deadline loomed even closer with nowhere else to go.
In the aftermath of the board’s decision and the shocking and unprecedented denial of relief to General Sage, several members of Congress and the armed forces have rallied to the defense of General Sage.
“This is a Christian brother who has exemplified his faith throughout his career, has lived consistent with it, been highly successful,” Younts said.
Florida representative Brian Mast published a letter to Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier and other members of Congress and the military sent similar letters to the Secretary of the Air Force to intervene on behalf of Sage before the December 31 deadline.
Sage’s wife, Jessica, a lawyer in her own right, penned an open letter to President Trump, appealing to his authority to overturn these judgments and ensure the continued and decorated service of her husband.
But the clock is ticking. Wednesday, December 31 is two and a half weeks away. And with Christmas only a week and a half away, the timeline to get anything done is even shorter.
“We're hoping that they will act,” Younts said. “We're hoping that by going public, that there will be additional pressure on Congress, and that the Secretary of the Air Force will actually take a personal interest in the case and do something about it….If they don't act by the 31st then we're going to be stuck in a situation where we any relief he gets would be after he's already out, and quite frankly, other than fighting for principle, it may just not be worth it, and he may just have to move on.”
It may seem to some that this is a lot of “sound and fury signifying nothing.” It is one man’s battle and may seem like a remote and, yes unfortunate, but ultimately individual appeal for justice.
There are, though, to Sage and Younts’ estimations, two major issues at stake here.
The first is the success of the Trump administration in overriding toxic Biden-era policies entrenched during Covid-19. That includes not only the executive order by Trump that established these boards, but also Hegseth’s campaign to uproot the “walking on eggshells culture”.
For some branches of the military, the Covid-era relief promised by Trump have by-in-large, become a reality. The US Army for instance has appointed a formerly discharged serviceman to head up its board and to overturn the previous judgments made against other men and women of that branch.
But the Air Force, for one reason or another – and Sage has his own theories why – has drug its feet in complying with the orders of the Trump administration.
Their lack of movement in getting in step with the new policies really does put pressure on Secretary of War Hegseth has he looks to back up his words on September 30.
https://t.co/zoii8QO82V
— Chris Sage (@sageideas) December 11, 2025
Breaking Update:
You know there are some bad apples hiding in the legal hallways of the Pentagon when you have 7 borderline criminal allegations filed against you 4 years ago by someone who would have been punished under SECWAR's "No More Walking on…
“Under your ‘No More Walking on Eggshells’ policy, you have mandated swift and impartial resolution of weaponized complaints, discipline for false filers, and restored commander discretion,” said a letter written to Hegseth signed by several members of Congress. “Brig Gen Sage's case is a textbook example of a complaint weaponized in bad faith. This reform is not merely bureaucratic—it is foundational to restoring trust among our warfighters. As new DoD leadership champions meritocracy, accountability, and Constitution-based leadership, Brig Gen Sage’s reinstatement must be the first bold step toward justice.”
Besides the Trump and Hegseth policies, there’s also that pesky autopen.
As mentioned earlier, the removal of Sage from the promotion list in 2024 was one of the memorandums of the Biden administration signed via autopen, according to Younts. Under the Trump directive from November 26, 2025, all documents signed via autopen are “null and void”.
While the autopen situation does not help Sage regarding the overturn of the board’s decision in his favor – the keystone to his fight for justice – it is noteworthy that this type of signature was used on the letter removing him from the promotion list.
The second issue, especially for Sage, is the downstream effect his case will have on other servicemen and women of the Air Force who were either removed from their duty or left because they could not keep up with, or afford, the fight against a weaponized federal government.
“Whether I stay in the Air Force or not, it‘s about clearing my name for posterity sake, for righteous justice, and for the future of the Air Force.”
By his estimation, there were roughly 8,000 members of the Air Force removed from service due to refusing the vaccine. An additional 72,000 left because they saw the writing on the wall.
“My hope is that by highlighting my case, the obstructionists who are still fighting against the policy of the president and the SOW; to fix the injustices of the last four years,” Sage said. “My case will carry water for thousands of people that have given up on the system. For four years I trusted the system and we won, and then that was overturned.
“How many captains and majors and sergeants gave up because they didn’t have the resources to keep fighting. If the Air Force will just take the win, by sticking to the board results, you are in alignment with the president and the DOW. Then those airmen will do what General Sage did, they’ll submit their packet and get restored.”
