五角大楼周四表示，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯已要求陆军参谋长兰迪·乔治将军，该服务的最高制服官，下台并立即退休。
五角大楼发言人肖恩·帕内尔在一份声明中说:“兰迪·乔治将军将从陆军第41任参谋长的职位上退休，立即生效。”“陆军部感谢乔治将军数十年来为国家做出的贡献。我们祝愿他退休后一切顺利。”
陆军参谋长通常任期四年。乔治在2023年接受了这个角色，由时任总统乔·拜登提名，并且会一直保持到2027年。
他的离开标志着Hegseth的另一个变化，他成为国防部长时担任参谋长联席会议成员的高级官员。赫格塞斯解雇或排挤了十多名海军上将或将军。
赫格塞斯此前解除了参谋长联席会议主席CQ·布朗上将和海军作战部长丽莎·弗兰切蒂上将的职务。
据一位美国官员说，赫格塞斯周四还解雇了陆军转型与训练司令部(Transformation and Training Command)负责人戴维·霍德内(David Hodne)将军和陆军牧师总长威廉·格林少将。
美国官员说，乔治此前曾担任时任国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀的高级军事助理，一年多来一直有传言称他将被解雇。
一名国防部官员告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，陆军副总参谋长克里斯托弗·拉尼夫(Christopher LaNeve)将过渡到代理参谋长，这是正常的指挥继任，也是为什么有两名四星将军在陆军最高两个职位上任职的原因。当办公厅主任丧失能力或被撤职时，就引发了继任。
“副参谋长承担这一角色是预期的和适当的行动，”这位国防部官员说。
拉尼夫以前是海格思的高级军事助手。
乔治是一名步兵军官，1982年入伍，1988年在西点军校获得军衔。他曾在陆军的一些顶级地面战斗部队担任指挥职务，包括第173空降旅战斗队和第4步兵师。
在他担任陆军参谋长期间，他监督了将陆军从全球反恐战争时代转变为一支在大规模冲突中作战的部队的努力，例如针对中国的冲突，并在无人机技术、远程武器系统和陆军制造动脉方面进行了大量投资。
他还整合了军队的各个部门，精简了人员，减少了军队中的将军数量，目的是建立一支更加灵活的军队。
乔治受到了警告，这实际上是军队中的公开谴责，而2009年他在阿富汗担任旅长，负责监督战斗岗位基廷-一个偏远的美国小基地，几乎被塔利班占领并被美国摧毁
八名美国人在袭击中丧生，两名士兵被授予荣誉勋章。这场战斗在电影《前哨》中有所描述。
Hegseth ousts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, the service's top uniformed officer, to step down from his position and retire immediately, the Pentagon said Thursday.
"General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. "The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."
The Army chief of staff normally serves a four-year term. George took the role in 2023, nominated by then-President Joe Biden,and would have been in the position until 2027.
His departure marks another change by Hegseth of the senior officers who served as members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he became Defense Secretary. Hegseth has fired or sidelined more than a dozen admirals or generals.
Hegseth had previously removed Gen. CQ Brown as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Adm. Lisa Franchetti as the Chief of Naval Operations.
Hegseth also fired Gen. David Hodne, head of the Army's Transformation and Training Command and Maj. Gen. William Green, the Army chief of chaplains on Thursday, according to a U.S. official.
George had previously served as then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's senior military aide and had been rumored to be on the chopping block for more than a year, U.S. officials said.
A defense official told ABC News that Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Christopher LaNeve will transition to acting chief of staff, which is the normal succession of command and the reason why there are two four-star generals serving in the Army's top two jobs. That succession is triggered when the chief of staff is incapacitated or removed from their position.
"The vice chief of staff assuming that role is the expected and appropriate action" said the defense official.
LaNeve was previously Hegseth’s senior military aide.
George is an infantry officer, originally enlisting in the Army in 1982 before earning his commission at West Point in 1988. He has held command positions in some of the Army's premier ground combat units, including the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and the 4th Infantry Division.
During his tenure as Army chief of staff, he oversaw efforts to transition the Army from the Global War on Terrorism era to a force built to fight in large scale conflicts, such as against China, and investing heavily in drone technology, long range weapon systems and the Army's manufacturing arteries.
He also consolidated various parts of the Army, trimmed staff and shrunk how many generals the service has, with the idea of creating a more nimble force.
George was admonished, which is effectively a public censure in the Army, while serving as a brigade commander in Afghanistan in 2009 for his role overseeing Combat Post Keating -- a small remote American base which was nearly overrun by the Taliban and destroyed by the U.S.
Eight Americans were killed in the attack and two soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. The battle was portrayed in the movie "The Outpost."
