Who is Christopher LaNeve, set to lead the US army?

7 minutes agoImogen JamesBBCGeneral Christopher LaNeve is set to become acting Chief of Staff of the US Army. His appointment comes after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Randy George to step down from the post, which he had held since 2023.The role is the most senior position in the Army, and office holders usually serve a four year term. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said LaNeve, who was the Vice Chief of Staff, is "a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault". It comes amid the war in Iran, and part of a wider shake up of the US military which Hegseth has been conducting since entering the Pentagon.He has fired more than a dozen senior leaders in just over a year, which LaNeve has benefited from, moving into more senior roles within the Pentagon.This marks his third career move under Hegseth.He was appointed as Vice Chief of Staff in February 2026, after James Mingus retired from the role early.Upon that appointment, Hegseth described him as "a generational leader" who will "help ensure the Army revives the warrior ethos, rebuilds for the modern battlefield, and deters our enemies around the world". Prior to that, LaNeve was a senior military assistant to Hegseth, a role he had been in since April 2025.He had replaced Lt Gen Jennifer Short, who was fired by Hegseth just a few months after he entered the Pentagon. LaNeve has held several other high-level positions in the military, which he joined from the University of Arizona in 1990.Over his 36 years of service, LaNeve has led several teams, including the Eighth Army in South Korea and the 82nd Airborne Division. He has also served in multiple deployment combat missions, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.