Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired a top Army general this week after accusing him of leaking classified information related to Iran and Russia to the news media.
Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, a highly regarded officer and combat veteran, was serving on the Joint Staff as the director of strategy when he was removed. His dismissal is part of a broad and extraordinary campaign to use polygraph tests to find and punish leakers.
The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history. Senior Pentagon officials did not offer any details or proof in support of the leaking allegations leveled against General Sylvia beyond a statement that said he had failed three polygraph exams.
The Defense Department “has zero tolerance for the intentional, unauthorized disclosure of classified information,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. “Anyone who compromises sensitive national security information puts the lives of our warriors at risk and undermines every military operation that keeps our country safe.”
Mr. Parnell said that there was “an extensive” investigation into the leaking allegations and that Mr. Hegseth “took necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information.”
Last year, Mr. Hegseth accused three members of his immediate staff of leaking classified information, promised a full investigation and suggested, without offering proof, that a Pentagon investigation had already uncovered evidence of their guilt.
Nearly 18 months later, that investigation has turned up no proof that the three officials — Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick — committed any wrongdoing. Mr. Caldwell was rehired earlier this year by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
In August, U.S. government investigators subjected roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the war with Iran has created a shortage of crucial munitions, according to officials briefed on the move. Because they are viewed as unreliable, polygraph tests are not admissible as evidence at a court-martial.
The polygraph tests followed a flurry of news reports that detailed diminished stocks of long-range missiles, Patriot interceptors and other crucial munitions. The show of force appeared aimed at not just ferreting out anyone who may have shared information but also intimidating others who might do so in the future, according to people with knowledge of the effort.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, which coordinates operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world.
General Sylvia’s firing was reported on Wednesday night by The Atlantic. In the immediate aftermath of his dismissal, a spokesman for the Joint Staff put out a statement commending him for “his 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,” the statement read.
On Thursday morning, a Joint Staff spokesman retracted the first statement and issued a new one that said: “Out of respect for the service member and the ongoing personnel process, we will not comment further.”
As part of the investigation, General Sylvia acknowledged that he knew and had conversations with at least one journalist while serving on the Joint Staff but denied sharing any sensitive or classified information, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to share sensitive information. Senior Pentagon officials, including members of Mr. Hegseth’s staff, frequently talk to reporters.
The general’s dismissal shocked and angered many current and retired senior Army officers. They described him as a loyal officer who had served bravely in combat and thought deeply about how the military needed to adapt and embrace new technology to fight future wars.
When asked about the firing on Thursday, President Trump mistook General Sylvia for a woman: “She’s got problems,” Mr. Trump said. “She’s going to have big problems. We’re very much looking for leakers.”
General Sylvia worked directly for Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As the Joint Staff’s director of strategy, General Sylvia played an essential role in coordinating military plans and policy around the world, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
His dismissal, which comes as Mr. Trump considers a return to combat with Iran, is a window into a climate inside the Pentagon that senior officials have described as tense and paranoid. In the statement issued Thursday, an official sought to play down General Sylvia’s role in the war with Iran, noting that he was not a “central planner” for the conflict, which is being run out of U.S. Central Command.
Mr. Hegseth has dismissed or sidelined more than 80 generals and admirals, or about 10 percent of the force. In most cases those officers were fired without being told the reason.
During a speech in September, he vowed to eliminate another 10 percent.
General Sylvia, a 1994 West Point graduate, commanded the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., and was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with valor and the Purple Heart.
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