General Christopher LaNeve is set to become the 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, and office holders usually serve a four-year term. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that 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. This changes comes amid the war in Iran and a broader shakeup of the US military facilitated by Hegseth, who has dismissed over a dozen senior leaders in just over a year, benefiting LaNeve's trajectory in the Pentagon. LaNeve has held various high-level military positions since joining the Army from the University of Arizona in 1990, including leading the Eighth Army in South Korea and the 82nd Airborne Division. He has participated in combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and was appointed Vice Chief of Staff in February 2026 after James Mingus retired early.