Hegseth tells US Army chief of staff to step down immediately

By Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, CNN

(CNN) — US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has been told to retire immediately by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a Pentagon official told CNN.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed George’s retirement Thursday, writing on X, “General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation.”

CBS News first reported George’s ousting. A Defense Department official confirmed the accuracy of CBS News’ report.

Hegseth’s move comes a day after President Donald Trump’s address to the nation on the Iran war. In the speech, Trump signaled the US will intensify strikes on Iran, after earlier suggesting the US could be done with the war within two to three weeks.

As the Army Chief, George has worked closely with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — a senior official close to the White House whom Hegseth has perceived as a threat and had a contentious relationship with at times. Hegseth has ousted a number of other senior military officers during his tenure.

George, a career infantry officer, commissioned out of the US Military Academy at West Point in 1988. He has served as the chief of staff since September 2023; he previously commanded I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and went on to serve as the senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration.

While the job of senior military assistant to the defense secretary is often one considered to be apolitical and a role given to the best of the best of military officers, George’s proximity to Austin has been considered a mark against him to Hegseth and his circle.

There was speculation among military and Pentagon officials when Hegseth nominated his senior military assistant, Gen. Chris LaNeve, to be the Army vice chief of staff, that he would ultimately take over for George. As the vice chief, LaNeve will likely step in as the acting chief of staff in George’s absence.

Before working for Hegseth, LaNeve — who has served since 1990 after commissioning from the University of Arizona ROTC — was the commanding general of 8th Army in South Korea, after a brief tenure as commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Commanding the 82nd Airborne Division is typically a two-year job, though LaNeve left the role less than two years in and moved to be a special assistant to the commander of US Army Forces Command, before moving to South Korea, according to his official biography.

LaNeve got Trump’s attention in the hours after his inauguration, when LaNeve called into the Commander in Chief’s Ball with his troops from South Korea.

“Sir, on behalf of the brave men and women who serve under my command and the thousands of dedicated service members that are part of the joint team in Korea, congratulations on your victory as the 47th President of the United States,” LaNeve said on a video call. “Welcome back, Mr. President.”

Trump praised LaNeve, saying, “Is this man central casting or what?”

“They’re not going to play games with you. That’s good,” Trump added, according to an official transcript of the event. “I like to see that. Nobody is playing games with that man.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire
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