Hegseth Fires the Pentagon's Top Military Planner as Trump Weighs New Iran Strikes

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's top military planner, Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, a defense official told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Sylvia headed strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the directorate known as the J5. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no reason has been given and there is no immediate replacement.

Removed while Iran options are weighed

The firing comes while President Donald Trump is weighing renewed strikes on Iran in a war now in its eighth month. Trump has vowed to finish the job and says new strikes are an option after next week's midterm elections. U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to prepare for potential renewed military action after the elections, and for possible Iranian retaliation, two diplomats briefed on the matter told the AP. Both stressed that Trump has not made a final decision. A third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are heading to the region.

The J5 director and staff generate and coordinate military plans with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president. The Atlantic reported that U.S. Central Command has drawn up strike options ranging from a quick hit on Iran's nuclear sites to a longer economic campaign. "Now is not the time when you'd want to lose the J5," a former Joint Chiefs official told The Atlantic, calling the director a critical link between the operational force, department policy and the White House.

The second J5 pushed out in a year

Sylvia is the second general to be ousted from the J5 post under Hegseth. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced to retire last October. Pentagon officials told The Atlantic that Hegseth had lost confidence in Sylvia and that the general had a difficult working relationship with Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's senior civilian policy official. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Wednesday, the AP said.

A Joint Staff spokesperson said "the Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation" and wished them the best. Before the Joint Staff, Sylvia commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, and previously served as vice director for the J5, according to his official biography, which has now been taken offline. A 1994 West Point graduate, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A wider clearing of the top ranks

Sylvia is the latest in nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders fired, forced to retire or otherwise departed under Hegseth, almost all without a public explanation, the AP reported. The Atlantic counted at least 26 generals and admirals gone since Hegseth took over. Hegseth said last month he ordered the military to double cuts to top officers, reaching a 20 percent decrease by Jan. 1, 2027, across roughly 800 flag and general officer positions. "I call it accountability and long overdue," Hegseth told officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sep. 30.

Some members of Congress have called the cuts a purge that will take years to rebuild. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy combat pilot, said last month that Hegseth is "purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it's going to take a generation to recover from it."