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Who is Christopher LaNeve, set to become acting chief of staff of the US Army

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by Ellen Mitchell - 04/03/26 12:48 PM ET

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by Ellen Mitchell - 04/03/26 12:48 PM ET

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A former senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who rose to be the Army’s second-most senior officer is set to become acting chief of staff of the Army after the shocking ouster of Gen. Randy George.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s vice chief of staff since February, would take over for George, whom Hegseth asked to step down and immediately retire a year early, a Pentagon official told The Hill on Thursday.

CBS News was the first to report on George’s dismissal and quoted Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell describing LaNeve, 58, as a “battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience [who] is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.”

LaNeve, a native of Pittsburgh, has served since 1990, when he was commissioned into the infantry. His new role, if confirmed, would mark a rapid rise to the head of the military’s largest service branch at a critical time for the Army, with troops positioned in the Middle East amid the war in Iran and a changing battlefield with the use of unmanned systems.

Prior to his No. 2 role in the Army, he served as Hegseth’s senior military assistant at the Pentagon in April 2025, after Hegseth abruptly fired another officer in the job, Air Force Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short.

He was then appointed vice chief of staff of the Army in February, after Gen. James Mingus in October retired a year early from the position with no explanation.

“General LaNeve — a generational leader — will help ensure the Army revives the warrior ethos, rebuilds for the modern battlefield and deters our enemies around the world,” Hegseth said of LaNeve at the time.

Prior to coming to Washington, LaNeve was commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina before serving as a three-star general heading the Eighth Army in South Korea.

Trump first appeared to notice LaNeve during his inauguration celebrations in January 2025, when the general appeared virtually at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball, Stars and Stripes reported.

“Sir, on behalf of the men and women who serve under my command and the thousands of dedicated service members that are part of the joint team in Korea, congratulations on your victory as 47th president of the United States,” LaNeve said at the time. “Welcome back, Mr. President. We’d be privileged to host you here real soon.”

After speaking briefly with him, Trump said: “Is this man [from] central casting, or what? If I’m doing a movie, I pick him to play my lead.”

It’s unclear whether Trump will ultimately nominate LaNeve for the permanent position as the Army’s top officer, which requires Senate confirmation.

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