(AFP) – The United States has fired a top military planner, US media reported, with some outlets saying the dismissal was due to the officer allegedly leaking classified information. Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia was removed from his role as head of strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff, US media reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. CBS and Fox both reported that Sylvia’s dismissal was related to leaks, with the former citing a Pentagon official as saying the general failed three polygraphs about sharing classified information with the media.
A spokesperson for the Joint Staff, a top Pentagon body that handles planning and other issues, initially issued a statement that confirmed Sylvia’s departure and wished him well but later withdrew it, saying: “Upon further review, we determined that the statement did not appropriately reflect the full circumstances.” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell then said in a post on X that the Defense Department “has zero tolerance for the intentional, unauthorized disclosure of classified information” and took “necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information.” Parnell did not identify Sylvia by name and said “no further comment will be made regarding the individual or the circumstances of this action.”
“This matter, along with others, have been referred to the Justice Department for potential further legal action,” he added. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since returning to office early last year, Trump has overseen a purge of top military personnel, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February 2025.
Other senior officers pushed out include the heads of the US Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the US Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.
Hegseth said last month that the United States had slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20 percent, in a move he said was aimed at “accountability.” He suggested the cuts targeted officers who failed to get on board with his efforts to ensure the military is focused on war-fighting rather than the “woke” policies of previous administrations, describing the reductions as an “accomplishment.”
The reported sacking of Sylvia comes as Trump is believed to be weighing fresh strikes against Iran after US midterm elections next Tuesday. “We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump said last week, referring to US-Israeli attacks on Tehran in February that triggered the war. He did not give any indication on timing. Neither the United States nor Iran has engaged in major attacks on land-based targets since early September, settling instead into a pattern of strikes on commercial ships. Sylvia’s previous roles included leading the 101st Airborne Division — the US army’s air assault division — and heading a unit in Iraq.
© 2024 AFP
