Military & Defense
Hegseth removes the Joint Staff’s chief planner as Trump weighs new strikes on Iran
Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, director of strategy, plans and policy (J5) of the Joint Staff, has lost his post without explanation, as the White House weighs resuming the war against Iran after the midterm elections.
The Pentagon’s top military planner is the latest name on a long list of officers removed under Pete Hegseth. US Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia has lost his post as Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy of the US Joint Staff, known in military circles as the “J5”. The Atlantic was first to report the dismissal, and an official of the Department of War, speaking anonymously because it was a sensitive personnel matter, confirmed it to the Associated Press on Wednesday, October 28.
The same official said Sylvia has no replacement yet and that no reason was given for his removal. The Atlantic notes that the lieutenant general left the Joint Staff during the week “without explanation” and calls the timing “untimely”, since President Donald Trump may be planning to resume the war against Iran.
The Joint Staff bade Sylvia farewell with a short statement from a spokesperson: “The Chairman [of the Joint Chiefs], the Joint Staff and the Joint Force express their deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for 32 years of distinguished service to our nation.” They wished him and his family “all the best”. The officer’s official biography has since been taken offline.
Who the J5 is
The head of the J5 directorate and its staff draft and coordinate military plans both with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine, and with the US president. Sylvia, a 1994 West Point graduate, had earlier served as deputy director of the same directorate. From July 2023 to May 2025 he commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and in December 2024 he had been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and for the J5 post. He is the second head of the directorate to leave under Hegseth: his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced into retirement in October 2025.
Preparations for a new phase of the Iran war
The removal coincides with preparations for a possible new phase of the war with Iran, which began eight months ago with a joint US and Israeli attack. Trump has promised to “finish the job” and has said new strikes are an option after the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3. Two diplomats told the AP that US officials have asked Middle Eastern countries to be ready for new military action as well as for Iranian retaliation, with a final decision not yet taken. In recent days US and Israeli plans for new strikes after the elections became known, while a third US aircraft carrier and thousands more troops are heading to the region.
Sylvia joins nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders who have been fired, forced into retirement or otherwise left since Hegseth took office, the vast majority without a public explanation. Among them are the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, who are civilian officials, and senior officers of the armed services. In September the Secretary of War ordered cuts to senior officer posts to be doubled, so that the roughly 800 general and admiral positions are reduced by 20% by January 1, 2027. “I call it accountability, and it should have been done long ago,” he said on September 30 at the Marine Corps base in Quantico. Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly accuses him of “purging a generation of great military leaders” and warns it will take a generation to recover.