Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately." One source said Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth's vision for the Army.
George was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, meaning he would typically have held the position until 2027. A career infantry officer and West Point graduate, George first served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, then deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Before becoming Army chief of staff, he served as vice chief of staff of the Army from 2022 to 2023.
Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army's Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, who headed the Army's Chaplain Corps, both departed their positions.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the current vice chief of staff of the Army, will serve as acting Army chief of staff. LaNeve previously served as Hegseth's military aide and commanded the Army's 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023. Parnell said LaNeve is "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."
George's removal marks the latest in a series of high-profile military personnel changes under Hegseth's leadership. Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior military officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, and Defense Intelligence Agency head Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse. A senior Defense Department official told CBS News, "We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, effective Thursday. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately." One source told CBS News that Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth's vision for the Army.
George was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, meaning he would typically have held the position until 2027. A career infantry officer and West Point graduate, George first served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, then deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Before becoming Army chief of staff, he served as vice chief of staff of the Army from 2022 to 2023.
Two additional Army officers were removed from their roles in the same action. Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army's Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, who headed the Army's Chaplain Corps, both departed their positions.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the current vice chief of staff of the Army, will serve as acting Army chief of staff. LaNeve previously served as Hegseth's military aide and commanded the Army's 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023. Parnell said LaNeve is "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."
George's removal marks the latest in a series of high-profile military dismissals under Hegseth's leadership. The Defense Secretary has fired more than a dozen senior military officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, and Defense Intelligence Agency head Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse. One source told a Defense Department official that "it was time for a leadership change in the Army," though the decision was not related to Hegseth's recent overruling of an Army suspension involving aviators who flew near Nashville.
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