The U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has asked the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George, to “resign immediately from his position, extending the purge within the Pentagon,” according to Politico.
General Randy George, who had notably served during the war in Afghanistan, was close to Lloyd Austin, the first African-American appointed as Defense Secretary by Joe Biden, the predecessor of Donald Trump.
The forced resignation comes amid disagreement over diversity within the ranks of the U.S. military, with The New York Times noting that “this dismissal reflects the growing hostility between Pete Hegseth and senior military leaders.”
Pete Hegseth had clashed with General Randy George in recent months, opposing the promotion of four Army officers to the rank of one-star general, two of whom are African-American and two are women, on a promotion list that mostly included white men. This unusual decision raised concerns among military officials about potential targeting based on ethnicity or gender.
The decision to dismiss the Chief of Staff of the Army, long rumored, was met with hostility at the Pentagon. Many senior officers with extensive combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan have been removed or sidelined in recent months, making the forced resignation of General Randy George a setback for the Army.
Pete Hegseth plans to replace General Randy George with General Christopher LaNeve, his former top advisor at the Pentagon and a loyal ally.
