By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) – U.S. Army Chief of Staff Randy George was fired on Thursday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, three U.S. defense officials told Reuters, a major staffing change that comes as the U.S. military fights a major war in the Middle East.
Even as Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing the head of a military branch during wartime is extremely rare.
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.”
Two of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hegseth has also fired General David Hodne, who leads the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green, head of the Army’s Chaplain Corps.
George’s removal adds to recent upheaval at all levels of leadership at the Pentagon, including the firing last year of the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, as well as the chief of naval operations and Air Force vice chief of staff.
The department did not give a reason for George’s departure, which comes as the U.S. military builds up its forces in the Middle East while carrying out operations against Iran.
The U.S. strikes in the region are largely being carried out by the Navy and Air Force, although U.S. Army soldiers have been dispatched to the Middle East for air defense systems. The Army is the largest branch of the U.S. military, with about 450,000 active-duty soldiers.
Thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have also started arriving in the Middle East, potentially for ground operations in 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.
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There had been no public signs of friction between Hegseth and George, even as Hegseth pursued controversial moves such as firing the Army’s top lawyer and arranging a massive military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday, which coincided with Trump’s birthday.
Earlier this week, Hegseth also reversed an Army decision to investigate Army pilots who were flying attack helicopters near singer Kid Rock’s house, in an apparent show of support for the vocal Trump backer.
CBS News, which first reported the dismissal, said it was not related to the Kid Rock incident.
One of the officials said Hegseth’s former military aide and Army vice chief of staff, General Christopher LaNeve, will take over George’s role in an acting capacity.
Another of the officials added that senior Army leadership learned about George’s firing at the same time as it was made public.
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.
The office for George did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Jasper Ward and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Don Durfee and Andrea Ricci)
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