JUST IN: Pentagon Shakeup Continues With Further Key Departures
War Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the removal of two additional senior Army generals as part of a leadership transition at the Pentagon. The latest removals come just hours after Army Chief of Staff General Randy George announced his early retirement after being explicitly asked by Hegseth.
Major General William Green, who served as the Army’s Chief of Chaplains, and General David M. Hodne, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command, were also relieved of their duties on Thursday, according to a report from NBC News.
Available details on the specific circumstances of these personnel actions remain limited. Official statements from the Pentagon have not provided reasons for the decisions regarding Green or Hodne, nor have they outlined next steps for their positions or any immediate replacements.
The moves align with broader efforts by the Defense Department to adjust senior uniformed leadership. No further public information has been released concerning the operational impact or any performance-related factors in these cases.
The latest firings follow the simultaneous request for the immediate retirement of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George. “General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed in a statement.
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.”
George had held the position since 2023, when he was nominated by then-President Joe Biden. He previously commanded the 4th Infantry Division and I Corps, and served as senior military assistant to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022.
The general was set to serve through 2027 before his early retirement.
General Randy George speaks at the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition’s Eisenhower luncheon in 2023
General Christopher LaNeve, who had served as Hegseth’s senior military assistant and was recently advanced to Army vice chief, is positioned to assume the chief of staff role following George’s departure. Parnell described LaNeve as “a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.”
Hegseth has overseen multiple adjustments to senior military positions since taking office in 2025. These have included changes involving more than a dozen other generals and admirals across the services, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife.
The sweeping shakeup comes as the Trump administration continues operations related to the Iran conflict. President Donald Trump said in his national address that much of the U.S. Military objectives in the conflict had been obtained, adding that operations are expected to continue for two-three weeks.