2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 3, 2026 06:55 AM IST
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth late Thursday asked a top uniformed officer of the country’s Army, Gen. Randy George, to step down amid the ongoing war with Iran, news agency AP reported quoting the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not provide any reasons for his departure.
The Pentagon’s top spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” the Associated Press quoted.
The ouster, reported earlier by CBS News, is the latest among over a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office in 2025.
George held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023, under the Joe Biden administration.
Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was Hegseth’s top military aide, will be stepping in as acting Army chief of staff, according to a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, AP quoted.
The move comes as US Army paratroopers are heading to the Middle East along with thousands of Marines and other assets, the report noted.
It comes a day after Trump offered no details about ending the war with Iran, and warned it would hit Iran “very hard over the next two to three weeks.”
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Following Trump’s address, Hegseth echoed similar sentiments, with a post on social media that read, “Back to the Stone Age.”
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