Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has requested that General Randy George step down as chief of staff of the US Army, an official confirmed Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, corroborated a report by CBS News that George was asked to take immediate retirement.
The reason for the move has not been publicly disclosed, though CBS cited a source suggesting that Hegseth sought a leader aligned with his and President Donald Trump’s vision for the Army. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell later announced on X that George “will be retiring from his position… effective immediately,” without providing further details.
George, a nearly four-decade military veteran who served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, held previous roles including vice chief of staff of the Army and senior military assistant to Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration. His departure marks the latest high-profile exit under Trump’s second term as the US faces an ongoing conflict with Iran, which the president has indicated could continue for several more weeks.
Alongside George, General David Hodne, head of the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green Jr., who led the Army’s Chaplain Corps, were also removed, according to reports by The Washington Post and CBS. AFP has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Trump’s tenure has seen a series of dismissals among top military leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “CQ” Brown, the heads of the Navy and Coast Guard, the National Security Agency chief, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral at NATO, and three senior military lawyers. The chief of staff of the Air Force announced retirement midway through his term, and the head of US Southern Command retired after one year.
Hegseth has defended the personnel changes as the president selecting leaders of his choice, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about potential politicization of the traditionally apolitical US military. Last year, the Pentagon also implemented a reduction in top military ranks, cutting at least 20 percent of active-duty four-star generals and admirals and 10 percent of the total general and flag officer corps.
