A major general who grew up on Hilton Head Island was removed as the U.S. Army’s chief of chaplains as part of a string of firings from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to news reports.
Major General William Green Jr., who was born in Savannah and raised in Hilton Head, was one of three top Army officers dismissed by Hegseth on Thursday. Hegseth asked Gen. Randy George, the Army’s top general, to step down and retire; he also fired Gen. David Hodne, who became the head of the Army’s Training and Transformation Command in October.
The leadership changes come amid the ongoing war against Iran as the U.S. considers a ground operation in the region. Hegseth has now removed nearly the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff since his tenure began in January 2025, according to The Washington Post.
It was not immediately clear why Hegseth fired the three senior officers.
Major General William Green, a Savannah native who grew up on Hilton Head Island, became the U.S. Army’s 26th Chief of Chaplains in December 2023. He was removed from his position in early April 2026 as part of a string of firings by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. U.S. Army website
Green, who left active duty in 1986 to pursue his calling in ministry, was the third Black leader of the Army Chaplain Corps. He was responsible for leading the branch’s chaplains and providing religious support to service members and their families.
Green moved from Savannah to Hilton Head in the third grade. His passion for ministry was sparked by the late Rev. Ben Williams, a longtime pastor at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, according to previous reporting from the Island Packet.
In 1989, Green graduated from Savannah State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal science. He was commissioned as an Army chaplain in 1994 after earning his Master of Divinity degree from Emory University.
Prior to his promotion to chief of chaplains in 2023, Green held several key leadership positions and served as a chaplain in deployments to Bosnia and Iraq, according to the Army’s website.
Green’s firing, along with Hegseth’s steady purge of top military leaders, has prompted outcry from many U.S. officials.
“During Holy Week, and for the first time in our nation’s history, Secretary Hegseth fired the head of the Army Chaplain Corps … without explanation,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., wrote on social media Thursday, calling Green a “decorated leader who tended to our military’s spiritual health with honor and distinction.”
“This purge of senior military leaders should alarm every American,” Coons added. “With no clear path to ending the war in Iran, experience and trusted leadership matter more than ever. Instead, Trump and Hegseth are pushing out senior officers for seemingly no valid reason.”
Even as Green ascended the ranks of Army leadership, he found guidance from his time leading a small Baptist congregation in Garden City, Georgia, during college and divinity school, he told The Island Packet in 2019, following his promotion to deputy chief of Army chaplains.
“It is for me an opportunity to continue to care for soldiers and families and to have a voice at a much higher level,” Green said. “What I never lose is the ability to be a pastor. That, for me, is the first and foremost reason I am there.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 11:01 AM.
Evan McKenna
The Island Packet
Evan is a breaking news reporter for The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. A Tennessee native and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he reports on crime and safety across Beaufort and Jasper counties. For tips or story ideas, email [email protected] or call 843-321-8375.
