The Trump administration has fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and two other senior figures, officials said Friday, in a surprise shake-up just as US forces are locked in a major war against Iran.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s ouster of George, the
top US Army general, meant the latest in a series of high-profile departures
from the military since President Donald Trump returned to power a year ago.
There was little in the way of a public explanation for
sacking George, a highly decorated veteran who oversaw the army at a time when
the United States is more than a month into a punishing bombing campaign
against Iran that Trump says will continue several weeks more.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted a statement on X late
Thursday that George “will be retiring from his position… effective
immediately.”
During a nearly four-decade military career, George deployed
to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times and also served in positions including
vice chief of staff of the army and senior military assistant to then-defense
secretary Lloyd Austin during Joe Biden’s term as president.
The army’s vice chief of staff General Christopher LaNeve
will take over as acting chief of staff, CBS reported.
Hegseth previously said LaNeve is “a battle-tested leader
with decades of operational experience.”
– Military purge –
An official also confirmed that General David Hodne and
Major General William Green Jr. were removed alongside George.
Hodne led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command
while Green was in charge of the Army’s Chaplain Corps.
Trump has overseen a purge of top military officers,
including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Charles “CQ”
Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February 2025, shortly after taking
office.
Other senior officers dismissed include the heads of the
Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the
vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and
three top military lawyers.
The chief of staff of the Air Force also announced his
retirement without explanation just two years into a four-year term, while the
head of US Southern Command retired a year into his tenure.
Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the
leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the
potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.
Last year, the Pentagon chief additionally ordered at least
a 20 percent cut in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals
in the US military, as well as a 10 percent cut in the overall number of
general and flag officers.
AFP
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com