U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth distinguished himself on April 2 by firing three U.S. Army generals in one day. At the top of the list was Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, followed by Maj. Gen. Bill Green, Jr., chief of Army chaplains, and Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command. George had been serving as chief since 2023 and his term was due to end in 2027. The current vice chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, is acting chief until a candidate for the position is nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
It appears highly likely that LaNeve himself could be George’s chosen successor. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said LaNeve is “a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault,” clearly implying that George was not. According to CNN, LaNeve got Trump’s attention in the hours after his inauguration, when LaNeve called into the Commander in Chief’s Ball with his troops from South Korea. “Sir, on behalf of the brave men and women who serve under my command and the thousands of dedicated service members that are part of the joint team in Korea, congratulations on your victory as the 47th President of the United States,” LaNeve said on a video call. “Welcome back, Mr. President.”
As for General Hodne, his command, known by the acronym T2COM, was formed in October of 2025, by the merger of Army Training and Doctrine Command and Army Futures Command. The reason for Hodne’s firing has not been reported.
