Hegseth fires US Army chief of staff in reported string of dismissals

Retirement of Randy George is latest high-profile dismissal since the US defence secretary took office last January.Pete Hegseth, the United States defence secretary, has asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy A George to step down with immediate effect, amid the US and Israel’s war on Iran.In a statement posted on X late on Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said George “will be retiring from his position”, but he did not give any reasons for the abrupt decision during wartime.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump tells allies ‘get your own oil’, says Iran war could end in 2-3 weekslist 2 of 4‘Bomb back to the Stone Age’: US history of threats and carpet bombinglist 3 of 4How are NATO allies pushing back against Trump’s Iran war demands?list 4 of 4Iran’s FM confirms contact with US envoy Witkoff, denies talks under wayend of listHe added that the defence department was “grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation”.George’s firing, first reported by US broadcaster CBS, is only the latest in a string of high-profile dismissals in the US armed forces since Hegseth took office last January.CBS quoted a source as saying Hegseth made the move because he wants someone in the post who will implement his and President Donald Trump’s vision for the army.The general, 61, was first appointed to the position in 2023 under former US President Joe Biden. He was deployed in multiple postings outside the US, including in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As chief of staff, he is credited with attempting to remove redundancies in the army and integrate new technologies like cheap missile interceptor drones and artificial intelligence-powered targeting systems.In a report, The New York Times said the removal was related to clashes between George and Hegseth over the latter’s decision to single out and block the promotion of four army officers on a list of 29 personnel.Most of the officers on the list are white men, while two blocked by Hegseth are Black, and the other two are women, the Times reported, citing unnamed military officials.