Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's top military planner, a defense official said Wednesday, the latest in a series of generals to be ousted and one that comes even as President Trump is weighing renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-long war, the AP reports. Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the second general to be ousted from the post, known in military circles as the "J5," under Hegseth. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced to retire last October. The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters, said there is no immediate replacement for Sylvia and no reason has been given for the firing. The move was reported earlier by the Atlantic.
Typically, the J5 director and their staff are responsible for generating and coordinating military plans with both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president. Sylvia's firing comes as Trump has repeatedly floated starting new military operations against Iran. He is the latest in nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders to be fired, forced to retire, or otherwise depart under Hegseth's tenure—almost all of which have not been publicly explained by the Pentagon. That includes the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy as well as some top uniformed officers for the military services.
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