Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia after polygraph tests connected the military planner to classified war disclosures.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top military planner, after an investigation into allegations he leaked classified war information, CBS News reported late Wednesday. Sylvia served as the director of strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a key position known across the military as the J5.
According to Fox News, Sylvia failed three polygraph examinations during an inquiry into unauthorized disclosures about the war in Iran, the war in Ukraine and other sensitive topics. Hegseth’s office has referred the case to the Department of Justice for further review. Neither Sylvia nor the Justice Department immediately answered requests for comment.
Allegations behind the dismissal
Investigators accused Sylvia of meeting reporters outside the Pentagon with the intention of passing along classified material. That conduct allegedly took place after Hegseth enacted new media policies that require reporters to be escorted while inside the building.
The Atlantic first reported Sylvia’s removal, citing sources who said Hegseth lost confidence in the three-star general following friction with Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby. Sylvia, who graduated from West Point in 1994, has served for more than three decades in the Army. He completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was wounded in action.
Before taking over the J5 post in December, Sylvia commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, and previously worked as the vice director for the J5. The Pentagon has since taken Sylvia’s official military biography offline. In a public statement, a Joint Staff spokesperson expressed gratitude to Sylvia and his family for his 32 years of military service.
Although Sylvia directed the strategy office, a defense official told Fox News that he wasn’t a central planner for the war in Iran. Strategic planning for that conflict is handled by U.S. Central Command under Adm. Brad Cooper. Sources also told Fox News that the J5 office had already been sidelined from that role since the spring.
Wider cuts across senior military ranks
Sylvia is the second leader of the J5 to be forced out during Hegseth’s tenure. The news outlets reported different names for his predecessor: Fox News identified him as Lt. Gen. John McGee, while CBS News reported that Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee was forced to retire from the assignment last October. Earlier this year, Hegseth also removed Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims from his post as director of the Joint Staff. The Pentagon has not named a successor to replace Sylvia.
The dismissal is part of a broad series of departures among high-ranking commanders. Nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other senior leaders have been ousted, forced to retire or pushed out since Hegseth took office. The departures have also affected civilian leadership, including the secretaries of the Army and the Navy. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after reported policy disagreements, leading President Donald Trump to appoint Adam Telle as acting secretary.
Hegseth announced last month that he had ordered the military to double its planned reductions among top officers, aiming for a 20% cut across roughly 800 general and flag officer positions by Jan. 1, 2027. Speaking to junior officers and enlisted personnel at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 30, Hegseth defended the initiative: “I call it accountability and long overdue.”
The cuts have drawn pushback from Capitol Hill. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona criticized the wave of departures as an institutional purge that would take decades to repair, arguing that Hegseth holds personal grievances against top military leadership.
Preparations for potential strikes against Iran
The strategist’s firing coincides with discussions inside the Trump administration over whether to carry out renewed strikes against Iran. Trump entered the conflict alongside Israel eight months ago and has stated an intention to finish the job, noting that fresh military strikes remain an option after next week’s midterm elections.
American officials have warned several Middle Eastern partners and regional allies to prepare for potential strikes following Tuesday’s election, as well as possible retaliatory action from Tehran. In response to the regional tensions, the U.S. military has deployed a third aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops to the Middle East.
