Since Pete Hegseth has taken over the Pentagon, he's fired a stunning share of its most experienced leaders. More than 250 combined years of military experience have been fired, forced out, or sidelined. Those who are left answer only to loyalty, not the mission. Find out who they are and why they were removed: Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr:
The second Black officer to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and a combat fighter pilot with 3,100+ flight hours. He was fired in February 2025, just 16 months into a four-year term over concerns of “DEI.” Adm. Lisa Franchetti: The first woman ever to lead the Navy and to sit on the Joint Chiefs; she'd commanded a destroyer and a carrier strike group. She was relieved the same day as Brown, with no explanation given. CNN reported Hegseth had once dismissed her as a "DEI hire." Gen. Randy George:
The Army's top uniformed officer and a career infantryman who served in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Hegseth asked him to take immediate retirement in April 2026, more than a year before his term was up. No public reason was given. Gen. Christopher Donahue:
Commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, a West Point grad and former Delta Force commander best known as the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021. He was pushed into early retirement after Hegseth blocked an effort to extend his career while he was building the Army's new drone unit based on lessons from Ukraine. That unit is now being phased out. Gen. Timothy Haugh:
Director of the NSA and head of U.S. Cyber Command, with more than 30 years in Air Force intelligence. He was fired in April 2025 with no official explanation — shortly after far-right activist Laura Loomer pressed Trump to remove him as "disloyal." Haugh denied any disloyalty. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse: Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was ousted in August 2025 , catching agency staff off guard, after the DIA's early assessment found U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites had only set the program back by months, a finding that reportedly angered Trump. The Pentagon never gave an official reason. Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield:
The U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee. The Pentagon relieved her in April 2025 citing a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead." She had been singled out online as supposedly "woke" in part over a 2015 Women's Equality Day presentation on gender equality. Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore:
Chief of the Navy Reserve, with more than 30 years of service, including as deputy commander of the Sixth Fleet. She was relieved of duty in August 2025 with no public reason given. Now she’s running for Congress in South Carolina’s 1st district.