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U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top strategic planner, amid an investigation into allegations that he leaked classified information to journalists. A Department of War official said Sylvia failed three polygraph examinations, and the investigation has been referred to the Justice Department.
The official, who spoke to Fox News, said the alleged disclosures involved the Iran war, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive matters. Fox News Digital said it had asked the Justice Department and Sylvia for comment and had not heard back at the time of publication.
Sylvia is also accused of meeting journalists outside the Pentagon with the alleged intention of leaking classified material. The accusation follows new media restrictions from Hegseth that require reporters to be escorted inside the building.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the personnel action followed “an extensive Air Force OSI investigation.” He did not name Sylvia or give further details. He added a warning to anyone suspected of leaking: “We vowed to find you, and we meant it.”
The official stressed that Sylvia was not a central planner of the Iran war. That campaign falls under U.S. Central Command and its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.
The Atlantic first reported the ouster Wednesday night. It cited sources who said Hegseth had lost confidence in the three-star general amid tensions with Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby. A separate defense official, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press, said no reason had been given for the firing and that there was no immediate replacement. Trump told reporters Thursday that Sylvia is going to have “big problems, long term problems.”
Sylvia led the Joint Staff’s Directorate for Strategy, Plans and Policy, known as the J5. The directorate develops military strategy and advises the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and its staff generate and coordinate military plans with both the chairman and the president. Sources told Fox News that Sylvia had been sidelined from that role since the spring.
He is the second officer to lead the J5 to be removed under Hegseth. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. McGee, was forced to retire last October. Hegseth also removed Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, then director of the Joint Staff, earlier this year.
Hegseth has alleged leaks within his senior ranks before. Three Pentagon officials were removed amid a leak investigation last year. They denied wrongdoing and said they were never told what they were accused of leaking. Hegseth has also announced a joint task force with the Justice Department to prosecute leaks to journalists.
A Joint Staff spokesperson thanked Sylvia and his family for “32 years of distinguished service to our nation.”
The removal comes as the Pentagon reportedly weighs renewed military action against Iran, eight months into a war that Trump launched with Israel. Trump has vowed to “finish the job” and said new strikes are an option after next week’s midterm elections.
Two diplomats briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that U.S. officials have told Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed action after Tuesday’s elections. They also said allies should prepare for possible Iranian retaliation. The diplomats said Trump has not made a final decision. A third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are heading to the region.
Sylvia graduated from West Point in 1994 and has served more than three decades in the Army. He deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan and was wounded in combat. He commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, and previously served as the J5’s vice director. He took over the directorate in December.
His removal is the latest in a wave of departures. Nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other senior leaders have been fired, forced to retire or otherwise left under Hegseth. The Pentagon has publicly explained almost none of them. The group includes the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy.
Hegseth said last month that he had ordered the military to double its planned cuts to top officers, to a 20% reduction by Jan. 1, 2027. Roughly 800 flag and general officer positions exist now. “I call it accountability and long overdue,” he told junior officers and enlisted leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 30.
Some members of Congress have called the cuts a “purge.” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot and a Hegseth critic, said last month that the defense secretary is “purging a generation of great leaders of the military,” and that recovery “is going to take a generation.”
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