Overview
- Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who was removed late Wednesday, was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Pentagon officials said he failed three polygraph exams and was under investigation for sharing classified information with reporters.
- The Air Force Office of Special Investigations led the inquiry that Pentagon spokespeople said produced the polygraph results and that the department referred the matter to the Justice Department for potential legal action.
- Sylvia’s departure leaves the Joint Staff’s Directorate for Strategy, Plans and Policy, known as the J5, without an announced director just as the White House is weighing options for renewed strikes on Iran.
- The Joint Staff briefly issued and then withdrew a public note thanking Sylvia for his service, and Sylvia has not been publicly charged while some Pentagon sources and associates dispute the leak allegations.
- The firing follows a broader Hegseth campaign to tighten media rules, expand polygraph use and remove senior officers, a shift that could widen leadership gaps in Pentagon planning and raise scrutiny of other officials.