US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Randy George, three US defense officials told Reuters on Thursday. The development came as Hegseth move to reshape Pentagon leadership amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Reports now claim that General Christopher LaNeve will serve as the acting Army chief.
Randy George will be ‘retiring’
According to Reuters, the Pentagon confirmed that George, who had more than a year left in his term, “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”
The department did not give a reason for George’s departure, which comes as the US military builds up its forces in the Middle East while carrying out operations against Iran.
In a statement, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff thanked George for his service. “Since 1988, General George and his family have consistently answered the nation’s call with honor and dedication,” the Joint Staff said.
In conversation with Axios, a US official described the firing during a war as “insane.”
George, an infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was confirmed to the top Army post in 2023. Terms in that role usually run for four years.
Prior to holding the top job, George was the vice chief of the Army and, before that, the senior military adviser to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
He was considered close to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. The two worked together to take on large defense companies, in the Army’s drive to speed up weapons development and drive down costs.
Who is Christopher LaNeve, set to become acting US Army Chief
One of the officials was quoted as saying that Hegseth’s former military aide and Army vice chief of staff, General Christopher LaNeve, will take over George’s role in an acting capacity.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the BBC that LaNeve was “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.”
LaNeve was appointed as vice-chief of staff in February 2026, after James Mingus retired from the role early. Prior to that, LaNeve was a senior military assistant to Hegseth, a role he had been in since April 2025, the BBC reported.
LaNeve had replaced Lt Gen Jennifer Short, who was fired by Hegseth just a few months after he entered the Pentagon in January last year.
He has reportedly held several other high-level positions in the military, which he joined from the University of Arizona in 1990.
Over his 36 years of service, LaNeve has led several teams, including the Eighth Army in South Korea and the 82nd Airborne Division.
(With inputs from agencies)
