Pentagon says fired three-star general leaked Iran war secrets and failed polygraphs

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s top strategy officer, Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, and the Pentagon now says the general leaked classified information about the Iran war and the war in Ukraine to journalists.

A defense official confirmed the firing late Wednesday, Oct. 28, without giving a reason. Hours later, a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity said in a statement that Sylvia was under investigation for sharing classified information with reporters and had failed three polygraph tests, The Associated Press reported.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department “took necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information,” without naming Sylvia. He said the action followed an extensive investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, CBS News reported, and that the matter has been referred to the Justice Department for possible further legal action.

Sylvia did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment by phone, text, email and LinkedIn.

What the Pentagon is alleging

As director for strategy, plans and policy, known inside the building as the J-5, Sylvia led the office that drafts and coordinates military plans for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president. That puts the allegation close to the center of U.S. war planning at a sensitive moment.

An internal report shared with Axios says Sylvia admitted leaking classified information about Ukraine and Iran to two reporters at separate outlets over roughly a year, according to a Just Security summary of that reporting. Axios put the number of failed polygraphs at four, one more than the figure in the Pentagon official’s statement to the AP. A U.S. official said Sylvia acknowledged the conduct on video.

The Pentagon official also played down Sylvia’s role in the Iran campaign, insisting he was not a central planner for the war. Planning for Iran sits with U.S. Central Command, the official said. CBS News, however, described Sylvia as having been coordinating the Iran battle plan from the Joint Staff.

A Defense Department official told Al Jazeera that because of the Pentagon’s rule requiring escorts for reporters inside the building, Sylvia had been meeting journalists outside it.

The Atlantic, which first reported the ouster, said Hegseth had lost confidence in Sylvia amid tensions with the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, according to Fox News.

A confusing 24 hours at the Joint Staff

The way the firing played out added to the questions. On Wednesday night, a Joint Staff spokesperson thanked Sylvia and his family for 32 years of service. On Thursday, the Joint Staff withdrew that statement, saying it did not reflect the full circumstances.

President Donald Trump, asked about the firing on Thursday, said the administration is actively hunting for leakers. He also referred to the general as a woman, a mistake the AP noted in its report.

It is also unclear why the case is going to the Justice Department rather than through the military justice system, which normally handles alleged crimes by active-duty officers. The Pentagon has not explained the choice.

Who is Brett Sylvia?

Sylvia is a career Army officer with 32 years in uniform. Before moving to the Joint Staff, he commanded the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, according to an official biography that has since been taken offline. He had earlier served as vice director of the same J-5 office he later led.

His awards include six Bronze Star Medals, one with a valor device, and a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.

Part of a pattern under Hegseth

Sylvia is the latest in a series of senior officers fired or pushed out under Hegseth. The removals began in February 2025, when Trump fired Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, and have continued across the services since. Nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other senior leaders have been fired, pushed out or otherwise left during his tenure, Fox News reported. It is also not the first time the secretary has accused people close to him of leaking.

Last year, Hegseth fired three aides from his inner circle during a broader leak investigation that also used polygraph tests. The three, including senior adviser Dan Caldwell, said in a joint statement that they had been slandered on the way out. The Pentagon never said publicly what they were accused of, and Caldwell later took a job at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The department has also tightened media access during Hegseth’s tenure. Journalists must now be escorted inside the Pentagon, and the press office has been declared a classified space that reporters cannot enter.

Why the timing matters

The firing lands days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as Trump weighs renewed strikes on Iran. U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries to prepare for possible military action after the vote, two diplomats told the AP this week, and Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, briefed Trump in person on military options on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The J-5 directorate now needs a new leader in the middle of that planning. The Pentagon has not said who will take over the office.

Any criminal case would now be up to the Justice Department, which has not commented publicly on the referral. Unauthorized disclosure of classified national defense information can be prosecuted under the Espionage Act and related federal laws.

Those cases can end in long sentences. In November 2024, Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sharing classified military documents online, including material on the war in Ukraine. Teixeira was a junior enlisted airman; a case against a three-star general would be far rarer.

What we don’t know yet

Which news outlets and reporters the Pentagon believes received the information, and whether any of it was published.
What specific information about Iran and Ukraine was allegedly shared.
Whether the Justice Department will bring charges, and when.
Whether Sylvia, who has not commented, disputes the allegations or has a lawyer.
Who will lead the J-5 directorate now.