Who Is Randy George? US Army Chief Asked By Pete Hegseth To Step Down, Retire Immediately

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down and retire on an immediate basis, US defence officials and a source familiar with the matter told news agency Reuters.

A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that George has been asked to take early retirement from the post of Army chief of staff.

The Pentagon confirmed ​that George, who had more than a year left in his term, “will be retiring from his position as the ​41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”

The Pentagon said in a statement it was grateful ⁠for George’s decades of service. “We wish him well in his retirement,” it said.

Following his exit, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve will take over

as acting Army Chief. LaNeve, a former aide to Hegseth, previously led the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

Who Is Randy George?

George is a West Point graduate and career infantry officer who has served in the military for decades.

He was commissioned in 1988 and has deployed during Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Before being appointed army chief of staff, George served as vice chief of staff from 2022 to 2023 and as senior military assistant to then US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration.

George was nominated by then US President Joe Biden for the position of Army Chief of Staff and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. A typical four-year term would have kept him in the post until 2027.

He was considered close to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. The two worked together to take on large defence companies in the Army’s drive to speed up weapons development and drive down costs.

Since taking office, Hegseth has removed or replaced more than a dozen senior officers, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim Silfe, the No. 2 leader at the Air Force.