US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia on Wednesday from the Joint Staff post overseeing strategy, plans and policy, known in military circles as the J5. The role generates and coordinates military plans with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president.
No reason was given for Sylvia’s dismissal, and no immediate replacement has been named. Sylvia has retired from the military.
His departure comes as President Donald Trump considers possible new strikes on Iran after next week’s midterm elections. Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of fresh military operations and vowed to “finish the job” after launching the war with Israel eight months ago.
US officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to prepare for potential renewed action against Iran after the elections, as well as for any Iranian retaliation. A third US aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are making their way to the region.
Trump has yet to make a final decision on new strikes, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter. At the same time, Vice President JD Vance has sent a letter to Iran, engaging one of the country’s most powerful hard-liners in an effort to revive peace negotiations.
Trump told reporters of Iranian overtures: “They need help with medical supplies and various things” and “he asked me what I thought. I said, If you want to do that, that’s OK.”
Late Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that “Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.” He said Iran was in close and ongoing contact with intermediaries to review ideas that could ensure implementation of Iran’s 7-Day Plan.
Sylvia is the second general forced from the J5 post during Hegseth’s tenure. His predecessor, Lieutenant General Joseph McGee, was forced to retire last October. Sylvia had served for 32 years and was commander of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025.
His removal is part of a wider turnover among senior officers. Sylvia is one of nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders who have been fired, forced to retire or otherwise departed under Hegseth.
Hegseth has ordered the military to double cuts in its overall number of top officers, aiming for a 20% decrease by 1 January 2027 from roughly 800 flag and general officer positions. Defending the reductions at Marine Corps Base Quantico on 30 September, he said: “I call it accountability and long overdue.”
Senator Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, a former Navy combat pilot, offered a sharply different assessment. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it,” Kelly said.
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