By Marcus Weisgerber and Michael R. Gordon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted the Army's top general Thursday, the latest top military leader removed in a Pentagon that has seen a purge of its top ranks under the Trump administration.
Gen. Randy George's departure was announced by the Pentagon, which provided no reason for his removal. The Army chief of staff normally serves four years, and George, who gave no indication he had been preparing to retire, assumed his post in September 2023.
A defense official confirmed that Hegseth asked George to retire early.
"General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately," Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a social-media post . "The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."
The service's acting chief of staff will be Gen. Christopher LaNeve. A former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, LaNeve served as Hegseth's military aide before being named as the vice chief of staff of the Army. LaNeve's appointment as the Army's No. 2 official was seen by many inside the Pentagon as a move by Hegseth to position him as George's successor.
With the departure of George, Hegseth has removed most of the leaders of the military services, an unusually high turnover. Hegseth has ousted Gen. CQ Brown, the Air Force general who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Lisa Franchetti, the admiral who served as chief of naval operations. Gen. David Allvin, who served as chief of staff of the Air Force, was forced to retire early as was the vice chief of the service, Gen. James Slife.
Hegseth also replaced the top military lawyers for the services.
The change in the Army leadership, which was first disclosed by CBS News, follows a turbulent week for the service. On Tuesday, Hegesth overruled service officials who suspended Army helicopter pilots for flying up to the residence of the musician Kid Rock, a high profile supporter of President Trump.
George previously served as senior military adviser to Lloyd Austin, President Joe Biden's defense secretary. But George quickly worked to implement Trump administration policies, including modernization efforts and deploying tactical drones.
He also championed procurement reforms to get new technology to soldiers faster, another priority of Hegseth.
Even though George hasn't completed his full term as the Army chief of staff, he would likely receive the full pay and benefits of a four-star general grade because he previously served as the Army's vice chief, a position of the same rank.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard, and Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, were also removed from their positions under the Trump administration.
Write to Marcus Weisgerber at marcus.weisgerber@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 02, 2026 18:46 ET (22:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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