DID THE suspicion of “woke-ness” cost a Navy admiral her post? (Shutterstock).

There was a time when political appointees to important government posts were more-or-less winked at as a concession to necessity.

Sometimes it was harmless. For many decades, the Postmaster General was a Cabinet level-post and was usually held by the President’s best drinking buddy or campaign manager.

Sometimes it was nearly lethal. Abraham Lincoln, trying to keep the Union together, felt compelled to make generals out of no-talent amateurs like Benjamin Butler, who probably did more harm than good to the nation in the Civil War.

This week, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield – the only woman on NATO’s military committee – was fired from her post. She’s the third top female officer dumped since the current administration took office.

No reason was given in this instance, but it’s widely – and credibly – believed that it’s because she was identified as being “woke” and a defender of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion).

Now, I’m not a fierce defender of DEI as it is sometimes implemented. I believe in “best person for the job” regardless of race, creed, sex, gender or favorite ball team.

But Chatfield was not interviewed or given a chance to clarify her position on the idea. She was simply shown the door – metaphorically – because some political pressure group flexed it muscles.

Apparently no importance was placed on her ability to do her job, which is to defend the nation and the Constitution. She was on some list and that was it.

This got more than my usual fading span of attention because she’s a local from Garden Grove and Pacifica High. But it nevertheless looks like being partisan flavor-of-the-month is the path to power in today’s Pentagon.

The last time we made this a policy, we almost lost a war. I’ll be curious to find out if the person who replaces her is as good as Shoshana Chatfield, or as bad as Benjamin Butler.