Hegseth ousts army’s top uniformed officer, even as US wages war on Iran

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down, the Pentagon said on Thursday without giving a reason for the departure as the United States wages a war against Iran.General Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately”, said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.The ousting, reported earlier by CBS News, is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year.Like many of those other firings, Pentagon officials are not offering a reason for George’s departure, which comes nearly five weeks into US-Israeli attacks on Iran and with no clear timeline from President Donald Trump on when the war may end.George is a graduate of West Point Military Academy and an infantry officer who served in the first Gulf War as well as Iraq and Afghanistan.He also served as Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s top military aide from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration before taking on top leadership roles in the Army.