War Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and retire immediately Thursday, removing the Army’s top uniformed officer in a sweeping leadership shakeup as U.S. forces remain engaged in active combat with Iran.

A senior War Department official told Fox News that Hegseth called George directly Thursday and told him it was “time for a leadership change in the Army.” No reason was given for the dismissal, an Army official said.

“General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” War Department chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. “The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s vice chief of staff, will serve as acting chief, according to a senior War Department official.

George, a career infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. He had been expected to serve a four-year term running through roughly 2027. As Army chief, he sat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Prior to the role, he served as senior military assistant to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022.

The abrupt dismissal comes amid reported tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Hegseth recently intervened personally to remove multiple Army officers from a promotion list after Driscoll refused to do so — an unusual step that drew White House attention. Senior military promotion lists are reviewed by the White House before being forwarded to the Senate.

George’s removal is the latest in a pattern of aggressive senior military leadership changes Hegseth has pursued since taking office. Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti were both pushed out earlier in the second Trump administration. Hegseth also replaced the Army’s vice chief of staff earlier in 2026 and removed Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from her role as senior military assistant, installing allies in key advisory positions in her place.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)