Hegseth ousts Pentagon’s chief planner as renewed action against Iran looms, source says

Sgt. Timothy Jackson/U.S. Army/AP

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out the Pentagon’s top planning officer as President Donald Trump weighs new strikes against Iran, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN.

Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who held the role of director for strategy, plans and policy, also known as J5, for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is abruptly leaving the position, a spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed.

No reason was given for Sylvia’s dismissal, and it’s unclear who will take over his responsibilities. CNN has reached out to Hegseth’s office for comment.

His dismissal is the latest in a long line of senior officers who have left the Pentagon under the Trump administration and since Hegseth assumed the role, enacting significant cuts to the top of military ranks.

According to the Joint Chiefs, the J5 role is a strategic role focused on advising plans for US engagement internationally.

“The Joint Staff J5 proposes strategies, plans, and policy recommendations to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to support his provision of military advice across the full spectrum of national security concerns to the President and other national leaders and to ensure those recommendations are informed by a larger strategic context – coordinated with interagency and alliance partners – account for the view and requirements of the combatant commanders, and assess risk in executing the National Military Strategy,” the Joint Chiefs’ website says.

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How Hegseth’s Pentagon tenure is shaping his possible political future

Sylvia, who was formerly commander of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was nominated for the position by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin near the end of the Biden administration.

By Wednesday evening, Sylvia’s biography had been removed from the Joint Chiefs’ website.

“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. We wish him and his family the best as they graduate to new opportunities and the next chapters of their lives,” a spokesperson for the Joint Staff said.

Sylvia’s removal comes at a crucial time for the Pentagon. As CNN reported , two US officials told CNN earlier this week that US forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major, military operations against Iran “within 96 hours of receiving” an order from Trump.

“It will be a big effort,” one of the officials told CNN. That view has been echoed by other current and former US officials familiar with internal military planning discussions — some of whom say it is a question of when, not if, Trump will issue a go-order. They believe it could come any time before the end of the year, though most likely after the US midterm elections.

Officials say that Trump has not made up his mind on what he will do after the midterms but that he appears to be leaning toward ordering major action. But officials also caution that Trump has appeared in the past to lean toward certain actions only to back off at the last moment.

Trump has stated previously that no attack would come before Tuesday’s midterms.

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Sylvia joins a list of top Pentagon officials and officers dismissed during Hegseth’s tenure as defense secretary. Prominent among those was Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, who was forced to retire in April a day after Trump signaled he was planning to intensify the war with Iran.

He has also fired more than two dozen senior officers, pushed out a Navy secretary he clashed with, and reportedly intervened in promotions across the military branches directly shaping leadership.

Sylvia’s predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, also left the position in October 2025 under pressure from Hegseth, sources told CNN at the time, adding that McGee had frequently “pushed back” against the defense secretary and Caine on issues ranging from Russia and Ukraine to military operations in the Caribbean.

CNN’s Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.

蒂莫西·杰克逊中士/美国陆军/美联社

据一位知情人士向 CNN 透露，随着唐纳德·特朗普总统考虑对伊朗发动新的打击，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯已经撤换了五角大楼的最高规划官员。

参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩将军的发言人证实，担任参谋长联席会议战略、计划和政策主任（即J5）的布雷特·西尔维亚中将将突然离职。

西尔维亚被解雇的原因尚未公布，目前也不清楚谁将接替他的工作。CNN已联系赫格塞斯办公室寻求置评。

他的解职是特朗普政府时期以及赫格塞斯就任五角大楼高级军官以来离开该部门的一系列最新案例，赫格塞斯上任后对军方高层进行了大幅裁减。

根据参谋长联席会议的说法，J5 的角色是一个战略性角色，专注于为美国参与国际事务的计划提供建议。

“联合参谋部J5向参谋长联席会议主席提出战略、计划和政策建议，以支持其向总统和其他国家领导人提供涵盖国家安全各个方面的军事建议，并确保这些建议以更大的战略背景为依据——与跨部门和联盟伙伴协调——考虑作战指挥官的意见和要求，并评估执行国家军事战略的风险，”参谋长联席会议网站上写道。

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赫格塞斯在五角大楼的任职经历如何影响他可能的政治前途

西尔维娅曾任陆军第 101 空降师师长，在拜登政府即将卸任之际，由前国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀提名担任该职位。

到周三晚上，西尔维娅的个人简介已从参谋长联席会议网站上删除。

联合参谋部发言人表示：“主席、联合参谋部和联合部队向布雷特·西尔维亚中将及其家人致以最深切的谢意，感谢他们32年来为国家做出的杰出贡献。我们祝愿他和他的家人在开启人生新篇章、迎接新机遇之际一切顺利。”

西尔维娅的离职对五角大楼来说正值关键时刻。正如美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报道，两名美国官员本周早些时候告诉CNN，驻中东美军已做好准备，一旦接到特朗普的命令，将在96小时内对伊朗发动新的、可能规模巨大的军事行动。

一位官员告诉CNN：“这将是一项艰巨的任务。”其他熟悉美国内部军事计划讨论的现任和前任官员也表达了类似的观点——其中一些人表示，特朗普何时下达行动命令只是时间问题，而不是是否下达的问题。他们认为，行动可能在年底前的任何时间进行，但最有可能在美国中期选举之后。

官员们表示，特朗普尚未决定中期选举后的行动计划，但他似乎倾向于采取重大行动。不过，官员们也提醒说，特朗普过去也曾有过类似的倾向，即倾向于采取某些行动，但最终却在最后一刻反悔。

特朗普此前曾表示，在周二的中期选举之前不会发动任何袭击。

吉姆·沃森/法新社/盖蒂图片社

“千载难逢的国防机遇”：在法律战中，赫格塞斯全力支持特朗普的竞选纲领

西尔维娅的离职使赫格塞斯担任国防部长期间被解职的五角大楼高级官员和军官名单又添一笔。其中最引人注目的是陆军参谋长兰迪·乔治将军，他在4月份被迫退休，而就在一天前，特朗普暗示他计划升级与伊朗的战争。

他还解雇了二十多名高级军官，赶走了一位与他发生冲突的海军部长，据报道，他还干预了各军种的晋升，直接影响了领导层。

据当时 CNN 的消息人士透露，西尔维娅的前任，乔·麦基中将，也在 2025 年 10 月迫于赫格塞斯的压力离职。消息人士还补充说，麦基经常在从俄罗斯和乌克兰到加勒比海军事行动等问题上“反驳”国防部长和凯恩。

CNN的Haley Britzky和Natasha Bertrand对本报道亦有贡献。