National Security and Civil-Military Relations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement—removing the Senate‑confirmed 2023 appointee roughly a year into his four‑year term—during active U.S. operations against Iran and naming Gen. Christopher LaNeve as acting chief. The wartime ouster, part of a broader string of Hegseth‑driven leadership changes, stunned Pentagon and Army officials who warned it could undermine command continuity and morale; George sent an outgoing email urging "tough training and courageous leaders of character" and calling to cut bureaucracy to better equip warfighters.