(AP)
A senior military strategist has been removed from the Joint Chiefs of Staff as President Donald Trump considers renewed strikes against Iran, according to a report Wednesday.
Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who directed strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Staff, was dismissed without a public explanation, The Atlantic reported, citing Pentagon officials.
Sylvia headed the Joint Staff’s J5 directorate, which helps coordinate military strategy and policy recommendations for senior defense officials and the White House. No replacement has been publicly announced.
A former Joint Chiefs official told The Atlantic the position is particularly important during a potential military escalation.
“Now is not the time when you’d want to lose the J5,” the former official said. “This person would serve as a critical link between the operational force, the department policy, and the White House.”
Pentagon officials told the publication that War Secretary Pete Hegseth had lost confidence in Sylvia and that the general had a difficult working relationship with Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s senior civilian policy official.
The Joint Chiefs issued a statement thanking Sylvia for more than three decades of military service but did not publicly explain his departure.
“The Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation,” a spokesperson said. “We wish him and his family the best as they graduate to new opportunities and the next chapters of their lives.”
Sylvia is the second J5 director reportedly forced out within the past year. His predecessor, Army Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was also pushed into retirement, according to The Atlantic.
The latest removal comes as Trump weighs whether to resume major combat operations against Iran following a period of reduced fighting.
U.S. Central Command has prepared several possible approaches, including limited strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and a more extensive campaign intended to increase economic pressure on Tehran, the publication reported.
Trump has not made a final decision, and new strikes are considered unlikely before next week’s midterm elections, according to the report.
The conflict, which began in February, has left U.S. and Iranian forces confronting each other around the Strait of Hormuz, a major international energy shipping route.
Iran has effectively taken control of the waterway, while Washington has imposed a blockade targeting Iranian shipping.
Sylvia’s removal is the latest in a series of senior military leadership changes under Hegseth.
At least 26 generals and admirals have either departed or been removed since Hegseth took office, according to The Atlantic.
Among them was Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, who was forced out during the U.S. military campaign against Iran. Other departures included Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., who headed the Army Chaplain Corps.
Gen. Chris “C.D.” Donahue also stepped down in June as commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa following disagreements with Hegseth, the publication reported.
The reasons for individual departures have varied, but officials cited by The Atlantic described concerns within the Pentagon about officers’ past involvement in diversity initiatives, associations with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and suspicions about unauthorized disclosures to the news media.
During a September address, Hegseth said approximately 10% of the military’s generals and admirals had been removed and announced plans to eliminate another 10% of senior officer positions.
Sylvia, a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, previously commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
He served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and received numerous military decorations, including six Bronze Star Medals, one awarded for valor, and a Purple Heart.
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