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U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the army’s top uniformed officer to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday, without giving a reason for the departure as the United States wages a war against Iran.
Gen. Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st chief of staff of the army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson.
George has held the post, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.
The ouster, reported earlier by CBS News, is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year. Like many of those other firings, Pentagon officials are not offering a reason for George’s departure, which comes nearly five weeks into U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and with no clear timeline from U.S. President Donald Trump on when the war may end.
WATCH | Negotiating with bombs:
Hegseth says Iran deal preferable, U.S. will ‘negotiate with bombs’
U.S. President Donald Trump says operations in the Middle East will end in 2 to 3 weeks, but the administration wouldn’t confirm if it’s planning a ground invasion. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the U.S. prefers a peace deal, adding, ‘In the meantime we’ll negotiate with bombs.’
Served in Iraq and Afghanistan
George is a graduate of West Point Military Academy and an infantry officer who served in the first Gulf War as well as Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s top military aide from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration before taking on top leadership roles in the army.
George made it through the initial round of firings under the Trump administration in February 2025, when Hegseth removed top military leaders, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the navy’s top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim Slife, the No. 2 leader at the air force. Trump also fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Since then, more than a dozen other top military generals and admirals have either retired early or been removed from their posts.
Among these departures was George’s deputy, Gen. James Mingus, who was in the post of vice-chief of staff of the army for less than two years when Trump suddenly nominated Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve for the position. LaNeve was then serving as Hegseth’s top military aide, having been plucked for that post from commanding the Eighth Army in South Korea after less than a year in the job.
