Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top military planner, as Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy (J5) on the Joint Staff. Sylvia joins the growing casualty list of flag officers/general officers forced out of the service since Hegseth took the reins at the War Department as part of his focus on reshaping the flag/general officer corps to focus on service, leadership, and warfighting and away from careerism; see Hegseth Takes Machete to the Ranks of Generals and Admirals, Aims to Cull Roster by 20 Percent – RedState and New Pentagon Test: Generals Chosen by Pressure, Not Credentials – RedState.
Who Is Brett Sylvia?
Sylvia was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers upon graduating from West Point in 1994. His career path indicates that he swiftly acquired powerful patrons inside the Pentagon. According to his oral history, as a captain, he was on the staff of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz during the planning for the Iraq invasion. When Paul Bremer took over the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2003, Sylvia was on his staff. About the time Bremer pulled pitch and headed back to the land of the Big PX, Sylvia also left. He returned to Iraq in 2007 as part of General David Petraeus's "Surge," but his role was somewhat unusual. He served as the operations officer for the 5th Squadron, 73d Cavalry Regiment, supporting the 82d Airborne Division's 3d Brigade Combat Team. What makes the assignment unusual, in my opinion, is that Sylvia was an engineer officer serving in an infantry/armor position when those branches had no shortage of officers who would've gladly given body parts to get that job.
He later commanded the 307th Engineer Battalion in the 82d Airborne Division and seems to have done the job well and under fire.
Now the curious part returns. Shortly after giving up command of the 307th Engineer Battalion, Sylvia takes command of the 2d Brigade Combat Team in the 101st Airborne.
Col. Brett G. Sylvia accepted command of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell on Friday and shaped his own piece of history in the annals of the “Strike” Brigade as the first engineer to command an infantry brigade combat team.
The number of combat brigades is very limited, and the population of fully qualified, combat-experienced infantry colonels is exponentially larger. If we would've sold body parts to be an operations officer in combat, we would've auctioned our wives off to a Turkish whoremonger to command a high-speed combat arms brigade. Giving one of these commands to an engineer officer demonstrates that the patronage that got him assigned to Wolfowitz's office while a very junior officer still existed and was very powerful.
He followed up that outside-the-box job with two others. In 2019, he was promoted to brigadier general and slated as the Deputy Commanding General, that is, second-in-command, of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Then, after a tour as the vice director, J-5, on the Joint Staff, he resurfaced as the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division. It is difficult to articulate just how incredibly weird it is for an engineer officer to be selected as deputy commander of one of the premier armored divisions and then move on to command the 101st Airborne.
He served as the Special Assistant to the Director of the Army Staff. That would be General James Mingus, whom Pete Hegseth forced into retirement. The Army Chief of Staff at the time, General Randy George, was also forced into retirement.
What is the J-5?
The J-5 is the Joint Staff component responsible for Strategy, Plans, and Policy. In practical terms, the J-5:
- Develops joint strategic plans and concepts
- Coordinates military options and campaign plans with combatant commands (especially for major contingencies)
- Provides policy and strategy advice on ongoing operations and potential future conflicts
- Supports the Chairman in his role as the principal military adviser to the President and Secretary of Defense
How does this affect the war with Iran?
Many outlets are bleating about how reckless Hegseth is in firing Sylvia with the war in Iran about to get hot again; see The Spleen Vented Against Hegseth Over Firing the Army's Top General Validates His Decision – RedState. That is nonsense. U.S. Central Command is running the operation in the Persian Gulf. The J-5 should be worried about big picture problems. The J-5 will have some dealings with the Iran War, but that role is consultation and coordination. Even so, the Director of J-5 is more of a traffic cop, supporting the administration's decisions and USCENTCOM's needs, than a warlord. As one of my bosses used to say, "The graveyard is full of indispensable men."
Why was Sylvia fired?
No official reason has been given for Sylvia's defenestration. According to the Associated Press, "A spokesperson for the Joint Staff said 'the Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation' and they 'wish him and his family the best.'”
However, a War Department official gave this statement, on background, to several social media influencers:
“Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, who was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired by Secretary Hegseth for severe misconduct. Although Sylvia’s title was director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, known inside the military as the J5, he was NOT a central planner for the Iran War. That is the responsibility of CENTCOM and its commander Admiral Cooper.
Sylvia is the subject of an investigation for leaking classified information about the Iran War, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and more. Due to the Pentagon’s media policy requiring journalists to have escorts in the building, Sylvia began meeting with journalists outside of the Pentagon in order to leak classified information.
Sylvia failed three polygraphs which questioned him about leaking classified information. The investigation into him remains ongoing and has been referred to the Department of Justice for further action. The extent of his leaking became so critical that Secretary Hegseth took immediate action and fired Sylvia in order to protect national security. Urgent action was needed and could not wait another second.”
The Atlantic reported: "Hegseth lost confidence in him, and he did not get along with the top civilian in charge of policy, Elbridge Colby, the No. 3 leader at the Pentagon." That, in and of itself, is more than sufficient grounds for his firing. That said, it doesn't take much imagination to connect the dots between the firing of two of his patrons, a likely disagreement between him and Colby over policy, and attempting to torpedo the policy he didn't like in the good, old-fashioned Washington way of leaking to the press; see Six 4-Star Generals Disagree on Iran. That's Duty. Leaking It to The Washington Post Isn't. – RedState.
Bottom Line
Sylvia losing his bosses' confidence in his advice and actions was ample grounds for firing. If he was leaking, and the specificity of the allegation makes it seem as though he was under surveillance, then they should have fired him, and hopefully there will be a prosecution. It is high time that a senior officer was smoked over leaking instead of it always being some midwit junior soldier. Much of Sylvia's background suggests he was selected as a very junior officer for great things, and his career has been managed to ensure that happened. In short, accomplishments aside, he's exactly the kind of general the Army doesn't need.
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