The Army’s top general will be retiring immediately, according to the Defense Department, an unusual departure amid the ongoing war with Iran.
The Pentagon announced Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George’s exit on Thursday on X.
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote. “We wish him well in his retirement.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly demanded George’s resignation.
The Independent has attempted to contact the general for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The apparent ouster comes as the U.S. continues to battle Iran, an extraordinary move that changes military leadership during an ongoing conflict and cuts off George’s expected four-year term, which would’ve ended in 2027.
Before he was chief of staff, George worked as the senior military assistant to President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022.
George received his commission as an infantry officer from West Point in 1988, according to his biography on the Army website. He was deployed during Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
George was vice chief of staff of the Army from 2022 to 2023 before serving as Army chief of staff.
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point praised the general on Thursday for sharing “experience-driven guidance with cadets” during a recent visit.
“Thank you for investing in our future Army leaders,” the academy wrote on X, in a post that appeared before today’s retirement announcement.
The president said in an address to the nation last night that the U.S. campaign in Iran is “nearing completion,” but the White House hasn’t offered a clear picture of how the war will end. Tehran maintains it hasn’t negotiated any kind of ceasefire with the U.S.
Earlier Thursday, President Trump touted a U.S. strike on a major Iranian bridge.
“IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that attacks on civilian infrastructure “will not compel Iranians to surrender.”
Under the Trump administration, multiple top military leaders have been removed.
Last February, the president fired U.S. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and removed the Navy’s top officer, Adm. Lisa Franchetti. In October, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, a three-star general working on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, was allegedly forced out after months of tensions with Hegseth.
The pair reportedly clashed over the administration’s military campaign targeting alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
Hegseth has claimed subordinates are behind embarrassing leaks, including allegations he used a commercial chat app to plan military strikes instead of high-security military channels.
“Those folks who are leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president's agenda,” Hegseth told Fox News in April. “We're for the war fighters. We're for the president. And none of this is based in reality.”
The same day the administration announced Gen. George’s retirement, the president said he was replacing Attorney General Pam Bondi.
