Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed the Pentagon’s senior military planner as President Donald Trump reportedly considers renewed strikes against Iran after next week’s midterm elections.
Army Lt Gen Brett Sylvia was removed as director of strategy, plans and policy, known as the J5, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a senior official told the Associated Press.
No successor has been announced, leaving Sylvia’s responsibilities temporarily unassigned, according to The Atlantic.
The J5 director and staff typically develop and coordinate military plans in consultation with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president.
Historically, the directorate’s deputy or vice director has stepped in on an interim basis while the president selects a nominee and awaits Senate confirmation.
Sylvia is now the second general to leave the J5 position during Hegseth’s tenure. His predecessor, Lt Gen Joseph McGee, was compelled to retire last October.
The leadership change comes as Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States could launch fresh military operations against Iran.
“Now is not the time when you’d want to lose the J5,” a former Joint Chiefs of Staff official told The Atlantic.
“This person would serve as a critical link between the operational force, department policy and the White House.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed the Pentagon’s senior military planner as President Donald Trump weighs renewed strikes against Iran
Army Lt Gen Brett Sylvia was removed as director of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a senior official told the Associated Press
A Department of Defense official, however, said Hegseth had lost confidence in Sylvia and that the lieutenant general had clashed with Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top civilian policy official.
A Joint Staff spokesperson said: “The Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt Gen Brett Sylvia and his family for 32 years of distinguished service to our nation.
“We wish him and his family the best as they graduate to new opportunities and the next chapters of their lives,” the spokesperson added.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment late Wednesday.
Before joining the Joint Staff, Sylvia commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, according to his official biography, which has since been removed from the internet. He had also served as the J5’s vice director.
Sylvia is the latest of nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders to be fired, pressured into retirement or otherwise depart during Hegseth’s tenure. In most cases, the Pentagon has not publicly explained the moves.
The departures include the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy, along with several senior uniformed officers from the military services.
President Trump has vowed to “finish the job” in Iran after launching the war with Israel eight months ago, and said renewed strikes could be considered after next week’s midterm elections
Last month, Hegseth said he had ordered the military to double planned reductions in the number of senior officers, targeting a 20 percent cut by January 1, 2027. The armed forces currently have roughly 800 flag and general officer positions.
‘I call it accountability and long overdue,’ Hegseth told junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30.
Some members of Congress have criticized cuts to the ranks of generals as a ‘purge’ that will take years to rebuild.
‘He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,’ Sen Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said last month. ‘He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.’
But President Trump has vowed to ‘finish the job’ in Iran after launching the war with Israel eight months ago and said new strikes are an option after the midterm elections next week.
US officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to be prepared for potential renewed military action after Tuesday’s elections as well as for the possibility that Iran will attempt to retaliate against them, two diplomats briefed on the matter said. They say Trump has not made a final decision on new strikes.
Meanwhile, a third US aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are making their way to the region.
One option the federal government is said to be considering is deploying the 21,600-pound ‘mother of all bombs’ (pictured) against Iranian nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure
The thinking within the administration is that if the US could push Iran to the brink economically, new military strikes now could push it to negotiate an end to the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the US officials said.
The US naval blockade has already cost Iran $25 billion in crude oil exports, Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, announced in a video shared to social media earlier this month.
‘The Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain,’ he insisted.
Any new operation in Iran may now be shorter term, like the one the US launched in June 2025 dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the officials said.
Among the options the federal government is said to be considering is deploying the 21,600-pound ‘mother of all bombs’ against Iranian nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure.
One source has said that the enormous bomb features explicitly in plans to attack Iran’s suspected nuclear facilities, including the heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex.
US and Israeli officials believe Tehran has stored components of its nuclear program at the site, which Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack.
Yet military experts have serious doubts about the MOAB’s ability to penetrate the thick layers of granite believed to protect the underground facility.
Unlike specialized bunker-busting weapons, the MOAB is primarily designed to unleash a devastating blast across a vast area rather than drill deep beneath the earth.
‘The MOAB is a massive information operation type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,’ a source familiar with Pentagon planning told CNN.
‘It is definitely not designed as a deep penetration warhead.’
The weapon could instead inflict catastrophic damage above ground while leaving deeply buried nuclear installations largely intact.
Its enormous blast radius would also raise serious concerns about civilian casualties, particularly if Iranian energy facilities near populated areas were targeted.
Nevertheless, some officials believe the psychological impact of dropping such a terrifying weapon could demonstrate overwhelming American military strength without restarting a full-scale bombing campaign.
‘POTUS has unfortunately put himself in a situation where he is almost compelled to do something and, without the ammunition designed to penetrate that level … you have to look at psychological effects for which the MOAB is well-equipped,’ the source added.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
