General Christopher LaNeve is set to become acting Chief of Staff of the US Army.
His appointment comes after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Randy George to step down from the post, which he had held since 2023. The role is the most senior position in the Army, with office holders usually serving a four-year term.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell mentioned LaNeve, who was the Vice Chief of Staff, is “a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault”.
His appointment comes amid the war in Iran and is part of a wider shake-up conducted by Hegseth in the US military since entering the Pentagon.
LaNeve has benefited from Hegseth’s dismissal of over a dozen senior leaders in a little over a year, reflecting a significant shift within military ranks.
This marks LaNeve’s third career move under Hegseth, who had previously described him as “a generational leader” equipped to revitalize the Army’s approach and modernize its strategies against global threats.
LaNeve was appointed as Vice Chief of Staff in February 2026, following James Mingus' early retirement from the role. He previously served as senior military assistant to Hegseth since April 2025 and took over from Lt Gen Jennifer Short, who was also dismissed early by Hegseth.
Joining the military from the University of Arizona in 1990, LaNeve has a rich history of high-level roles, having led units such as the Eighth Army in South Korea and the 82nd Airborne Division, as well as participating in multiple combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
