By Erin Banco, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice Admiral Fred Kacher has been removed from his position as director of the Joint Staff after only taking the post in December, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
A Joint Staff spokesperson confirmed that Kacher will "return to service" with the U.S. Navy, when asked by Reuters about his removal from the position on the Joint Staff. Reuters was first to report the decision.
The spokesperson,
Joseph Holstead, did not provide a reason for Kacher's removal.
One of the sources said he was not the right fit for the position. Still, the sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity did not say if there was any specific trigger for the decision.
"We are deeply grateful for Vice Adm. Kacher's dedicated service to the Joint Force and his contributions to the Joint Staff," General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement provided to Reuters.
The director of the Joint Staff provides key support to the chairman and is considered to be one of the most important three-star posts in the Pentagon, often leading to high-profile promotions including to oversee combatant commands.
Prior to taking the position, Kacher had a long career as a surface warfare officer, with posts including the commander of the U.S. Navy's Japan-based Seventh Fleet. He led the U.S. Naval Academy, was the commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale and holds a master's degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Kacher's removal follows upheaval at all levels of leadership at the Pentagon, including the firing of the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, last year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The latest shakeup comes as the U.S. military prepares a major buildup in the Middle East to potentially carry out strikes against Iran, if ordered by President Donald Trump.
Iran and the U.S. will hold talks in Geneva on Thursday about Iran's nuclear program, negotiations Washington says are critical to averting a conflict.
Trump briefly addressed tensions with Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying his preference was to solve the problem through diplomacy, but that he would not allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
(Reporting by Erin Banco, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)
