United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the director of the Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, for what the Pentagon says is severe misconduct.
The Pentagon’s top military strategist and head of strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff was dismissed, following allegations that he leaked classified information regarding the ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.
The move comes amid reports that the US had warned its allies of a possible renewal of strikes against Iran.
A Department of Defense official told Al Jazeera on Thursday that Sylvia had been “meeting with journalists outside the Pentagon in order to leak classified information”.
The high-profile termination marks one of the most severe consequences to date from an aggressive leak investigation ordered by defense leadership, which has increasingly utilized polygraph exams and an internal Pentagon task force to root out unauthorized disclosures to the media.
According to defense officials, Sylvia was ousted after failing multiple polygraph tests concerning the transmission of sensitive defense materials.
Pentagon officials confirmed that the findings of the investigation have been formally referred to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution.
As reported, the abrupt dismissal has sent severe shockwaves through military leadership ranks, underscoring an unyielding crackdown on information security at the highest levels of the defense apparatus.
Sylvia’s firing is one of the highest-profile consequences to date from Hegseth’s sweeping hunt for officials suspected of leaking information to the news media as the unpopular Iran war enters its ninth month.
Hegseth’s effort includes a Pentagon task force to identify the source of leaks and the widespread use of polygraph exams on senior officials as part of these investigations.
Last year, he introduced a media policy that raised legal concerns among press organizations, and revoked the press credentials of journalists who refused to sign it.
Pentagon’s senior official said, “urgent action was needed and could not wait another second as the extent of his leaking became so critical that Secretary Hegseth took immediate action and fired Sylvia in order to protect national security.”
