US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down, U.S. officials told CBS News, marking the latest abrupt leadership change at the Pentagon under the new defence secretary. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media that George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st chief of staff of the Army effective immediately.”
George, a West Point graduate and career infantry officer who served in the first Gulf War and in recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, was nominated to the Army’s top post by President Joe Biden in 2023. He normally would have served a four-year term, but it was not immediately clear to reporters why Hegseth requested his departure. “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army,” an unnamed senior defence official told CBS.
Pernell praised George’s decades of service in his retirement announcement, saying “The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.” The U.S. Military Academy at West Point posted photos on Wednesday of George meeting cadets and said he “shared experience-driven guidance with cadets preparing to lead,” underscoring the suddenness of the change in tone between public appearances and the personnel move.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve will become acting chief of staff, according to U.S. media reports. Parnell described LaNeve as “a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.” The transition comes as the Pentagon seeks continuity amid a series of rapid senior-level turnovers.
CBS also reported that two other Army officials have been removed: Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, chief of the Army Chaplain Corps. Officials did not provide public explanations for those removals. The changes follow a pattern since Hegseth took the helm at the Pentagon; he has dismissed more than a dozen senior military officers, including the Navy’s chief of naval operations and the Air Force’s vice chief of staff.
The personnel moves come against a backdrop of heightened international tensions and domestic political strain. In a recent address, President Donald Trump said the US-Israel conflict with Iran was expected to conclude “very shortly,” comments that have shaped defence posture discussions in Washington. How the abrupt removal of the Army’s top uniformed officer and other senior figures will affect policy or operations was not immediately clear.
Pentagon officials have so far limited public comment to the personnel announcements, and spokespeople did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the rationale for the changes or about any planned confirmation process for permanent successors. Gen. LaNeve will serve in an acting capacity while the administration determines the next steps for the Army’s senior leadership.