Trump Administration Removes Top US Military Planner Lieutenant General Sylvia

The Trump administration has dismissed the United States' top military planner. US media outlet The Atlantic reported the information on Thursday.

Quoting unnamed defence department officials, the outlet said Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia was removed this week from his post as head of strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Sylvia previously led the US 101st Airborne Division, the army's air assault unit, and also served as head of a unit in Iraq.

According to the outlet, the abrupt change comes at a time when President Donald Trump appears to be preparing to resume large-scale attacks against Iran.

The Atlantic said no reason was given for Sylvia's removal and no announcement has yet been made about who will be appointed in his place.

The report noted Sylvia's removal is the latest addition to the list of senior officers who have departed the military since Trump returned to power a year ago.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said last month that the United States had reduced the number of its generals and admirals by 20 percent to ensure ‘accountability’. He indicated the cuts targeted officers who had not supported efforts to move the military away from the previous administration's policies and refocus on warfighting capability, describing the move as a ‘success’.

Last week President Trump, referring to the ‘Epic Fury’ operation, said the US might carry out another small ‘Epic Fury’. ‘Epic Fury’ was the name of the joint US-Israeli attack on Tehran in February that began the war. He gave no indication, however, of the possible timing of a new attack.

Since early September, neither the US nor Iran has carried out major attacks on land-based targets; instead they have chosen to attack commercial ships, the report said.