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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top military planner, on Wednesday. Sylvia joins about two dozen senior officers removed under Hegseth in what critics call a “Pentagon purge,” and his exit comes as President Donald Trump weighs new strikes on Iran.
Sylvia ran strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a post known inside the military as the J5. The J5 director drafts military plans and coordinates them with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president.
The Atlantic first reported the firing, which a defense official later confirmed. No successor has been named. Sylvia is the second J5 director pushed out under Hegseth, after Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, who was forced to retire in October 2025.
Sylvia’s case is an exception, since the Pentagon tied it to leaks. Most other removals have gone unexplained, though officials and defense reporting point to four reasons behind them.
Which senior officers has Pete Hegseth removed in the “Pentagon purge”?
Roughly two dozen generals, admirals and other senior leaders have been fired, forced into retirement or otherwise pushed out since Hegseth took over the Pentagon. Hegseth has also held up dozens of promotions.
The shake-up has reached the top of the services. In April, Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George, the Army chief of staff and the service’s highest-ranking officer. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, the civilian who ran the service, resigned at the end of the summer after months of friction with Hegseth.
Sylvia, a West Point graduate, served 32 years in the Army. He commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, and had earlier been the J5’s vice director.
He saw combat in Afghanistan and Iraq and earned a Purple Heart and six Bronze Star medals, one of them for valor. His official biography has since been taken offline, The Associated Press reported.
What are the 4 reported reasons behind the Pentagon purge?
The reasons below come from the Pentagon’s statement on Sylvia, officials who spoke to the press. The Pentagon hasn’t confirmed reasons 2 through 4, and several officers may fit more than one.
1. Leak investigations
The Pentagon said Sylvia was fired for what it called severe misconduct. A Pentagon official said in a statement that he is under investigation for leaking classified information about the Iran war, the war in Ukraine and other matters.
According to the official, Sylvia met with journalists outside the Pentagon to get around a rule requiring reporters to have escorts inside the building. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said an Air Force investigation led to the firing and that the case was referred to the Justice Department, though he didn’t name Sylvia.
Leaks have been a focus for Hegseth since early in his tenure. In 2025, three of his senior civilian aides were put on leave and later fired over leak accusations.
2. Disagreements with Hegseth
Multiple national media outlets have reported that some officers were removed after disagreeing with Hegseth, including over the use of U.S. troops on American streets and the modernization of the armed forces.
3. Past work on diversity policies
Officials told the press that some officers were pushed out for past work on policies Hegseth considers “woke,” such as diversity programs. It has been reported that Hegseth believed some officers owed their jobs to their race or gender.
4. Ties to Gen. Mark Milley
Perceived closeness to former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley has also cost officers their jobs, officials told The Atlantic. Milley is a frequent target of Trump’s criticism, and the Pentagon has investigated him over claims that he undermined the president.
Hegseth frames the shake-up as accountability. Last month, he said he had ordered the military to double planned cuts to its top ranks, eliminating 20% of the roughly 800 general and admiral positions by Jan. 1, 2027. The Pentagon has called claims that it is in disarray baseless.
What does the Pentagon purge mean as Trump weighs new US strikes on Iran?
Sylvia’s firing comes eight months into the war the U.S. launched with Israel against Iran. Trump has vowed to see the war through and said new strikes are an option after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries and allies to prepare for renewed military action and possible Iranian retaliation, two diplomats briefed on the matter told AP. Trump hasn’t made a final decision. A third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands more troops are heading to the region.
The J5 job covers long-range strategy, policy and assessments rather than day-to-day war operations. A Pentagon official said Sylvia was not a central planner on the Iran war, which is run by U.S. Central Command under Adm. Brad Cooper.
Critics in Congress say the cumulative toll is the bigger risk. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot, said last month that Hegseth is purging a generation of military leaders and that rebuilding will take a generation.