HEGSETH FIRES PENTAGON'S TOP WAR PLANNER OVER ALLEGED LEAKS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon's top military planner and director of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Staff, on Thursday, October 30.

Sylvia is accused of disclosing classified information to journalists about the Iran war, Russia's war in Ukraine and other subjects, and the Pentagon has referred the matter to the Justice Department for possible legal action.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an X post that the Department of War has zero tolerance for the intentional, unauthorized disclosure of classified information, and a Defense Department spokesperson described the firing as due to 'severe misconduct.'

The same spokesperson said Sylvia was not a central planner for the Iran war — that role belongs to CENTCOM Adm. Brad Cooper — and accounts of the evidence against Sylvia differ.

The firing renews scrutiny of Hegseth's own handling of sensitive plans in the March 2025 Signal scandal. The allegations against Sylvia are accusations referred for possible legal action, not charges or convictions.