Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, sources familiar with the decision told CBS News. It's not smart to so against the commander-in- chief.

     One of the sources said Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth's vision for the Army. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that George "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."

     A senior Defense Department official told CBS News, "We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army." Two other Army officers were removed from their roles, according to three sources familiar with the matter: Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army's Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, who headed the Army's Chaplain Corps. The Washington Post was first to report on Hodne and Green's ouster.

     George previously served as the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022, during the Biden administration, after decades of service. A career infantry officer and West Point graduate, George first served in the first Gulf War and the more recent conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

     The Army chief of staff typically serves a four-year term. George was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, meaning he would typically have held the position until 2027.