Critics have called it a "purge" - but defenders have said the military's general officer ranks have been bloated and redundant. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has abruptly fired one of the Pentagon's top military strategists, curiously at a sensitive moment which has seen the Trump administration draw up options for a renewed, intensified Iran war - likely to come after the midterm elections.
Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia has been dismissed from his post as director for strategy, plans, and policy (J5) on the Joint Staff, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed late Wednesday.
Image via US Army, 101st Airborne DivisionThis marks the second turnover in that key position within about a year, after Sylvia's predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was initially removed.
Since Trump took the White House, Hegseth has pushed some two dozen senior military and civilian officials out of top command positions.
But what makes Gen. Sylvia's firing more notable and alarming is that Hegseth's office is citing "severe misconduct". He's stands accused of leaking classified info related to the Iran and Ukraine conflicts. However, the Pentagon has yet to state this publicly, or to offer an official explanation.
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