Kenny Holston/The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES:
The leadership vacuum comes as the Army is trying to adapt to a new kind of war dominated by deadly drones.
A series of firings and feuds initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has left the Army essentially rudderless as it struggles to deal with the threat posed by cheap, deadly drones and missiles that have pounded U.S. bases in the Middle East.
The Army has not had a chief of staff, the service’s top officer, since Mr. Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George without explanation in April, and there are no signs that he is close to filling the position, said current and former officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.
Mr. Hegseth has forced out at least three senior officers who had been viewed as potential successors to General George.
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, the service’s top civilian leader, is also expected to leave the administration in the next few months and has already moved out of the large family house that he was renting in Fort Myer, outside Washington, officials said.
The turmoil comes as the Army, the military’s largest service, faces its busiest period since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Army air defense soldiers are playing the leading role in defending U.S. troops in the Middle East from
increasingly sophisticated Iranian missile attacks. The Army’s command in Europe is providing critical intelligence and other
support to Ukraine as it fights to hold off a larger Russian force.
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Greg Jaffe,
Eric Schmitt,
Helene Cooper and
Adam Entous | Reporting from Washington | Tuesday, August 25, 2026
