Hegseth removes Lt Gen Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon's top planner, as Trump weighs new Iran strikes

A Joint Staff spokesperson thanked Sylvia for his 32 years of service and said the staff wished him and his family the best. According to that report, the Pentagon first issued a statement thanking him for his service and rescinded it a day later. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A pattern of departures

Sylvia is one of nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders who have been fired, forced to retire or otherwise left under Hegseth, and most of the departures have not been publicly explained. They include the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy. Hegseth ordered a 20% cut in top officers, to be completed by 1 January 2027, out of roughly 800 flag and general officer positions. On 30 September he said of the cuts: 'I call it accountability and long overdue.'

The removal comes while President Donald Trump is weighing renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-old war. He has vowed to finish the job and said that new strikes are an option after the midterm elections. US officials have told Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed military action and possible Iranian retaliation, and Trump has not made a final decision, according to two diplomats. A third US aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are heading to the region.

Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said that Hegseth has some kind of deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military. Some members of Congress have called the general officer cuts a purge that will take years to recover from. Another report says that the Pentagon later referred the matter for possible criminal prosecution, and that was not confirmed in the reports found.

The J5 is the Joint Staff's office for strategy, plans and policy, which makes it the Pentagon's top military planner. Its holder works on war plans at a time when the United States is fighting Iran and weighing new action.

The reports found do not say whether Sylvia has responded to the accusation, or who will take over the J5. They do not give the evidence for the leak allegation. They differ on whether the Pentagon has made a criminal referral, and one article describes the investigation while another does not mention it.