No immediate replacement or reason accompanied Sylvia’s removal from the J5 post
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia as the Pentagon’s top military planner, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. The official said Wednesday that Sylvia had been removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position known in military circles as the J5.
Sylvia is the second general ousted from the post under Hegseth. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced to retire last October. The defense official said there was no immediate replacement and no reason had been given for the firing. The move had been reported earlier by The Atlantic, while the Pentagon and Joint Staff did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment late Wednesday.
The J5 director and staff are typically responsible for generating and coordinating military plans with both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president. Sylvia had previously served as the J5’s vice director.
The firing came as President Donald Trump weighed renewed military operations against Iran eight months into the war he launched with Israel. Trump had repeatedly floated starting new operations and said new strikes were an option after the midterm elections the following week. He had also vowed to “finish the job” in Iran.
Two diplomats briefed on the matter said U.S. officials had told several Middle East countries and regional allies to prepare for potential renewed military action after Tuesday’s elections. The diplomats also said Iran might attempt to retaliate against those countries and allies. They said Trump had not made a final decision on new strikes.
A third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops were making their way to the region.
Before arriving at the Joint Staff, Sylvia commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, according to his official biography. The biography has now been taken offline.
Sylvia is the latest in nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders to be fired, forced to retire or otherwise depart under Hegseth’s tenure. Almost all of those departures have not been publicly explained by the Pentagon. The group includes the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy and some top uniformed officers for the military services.
Last month, Hegseth said he had ordered the military to double cuts to the overall number of top officers, raising the planned reduction to a 20% decrease to be completed by Jan. 1, 2027. There are currently roughly 800 flag and general officer positions. “I call it accountability and long overdue,” Hegseth told junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 30.
Some members of Congress have criticized the cuts as a “purge” that will take years to rebuild. “He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot who has been critical of Hegseth, said last month. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.”