Hegseth Fires Top Pentagon Planner Accused of Leaking Iran War Secrets. 'We Vowed to Find You'

War Secretary Pete Hegseth promised in July to hunt down whoever was leaking the military's secrets to reporters. This week the hunt reached the office that writes the military's war plans.

Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Joint Staff's director for strategy, plans and policy, known as the J5. A Pentagon official told CBS News that Sylvia was accused of leaking classified information about the Iran war and Russia's war in Ukraine, that he failed three polygraph tests about sharing classified material with the press, and that the case has been referred to the Justice Department.

The Atlantic broke the news of the ouster Wednesday night. By Thursday morning the Pentagon was putting its own name on the result.

The Pentagon's message

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell did not name Sylvia, but he left no doubt about the reason. "Following an extensive Air Force OSI investigation, the Department took necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information," Parnell wrote on X. "This matter, along with others, have been referred to the Justice Department for potential further legal action."

Then he spoke straight to anyone else thinking about it. "Classified information is not personal property. Leaking it for personal, political or professional gain is a betrayal of the trust placed in those responsible for keeping it," he wrote. "Our commitment was not an empty promise. We vowed to find you, and we meant it."

Note the words "along with others." Sylvia's case may not be the only one headed to prosecutors.

How he allegedly did it

Hegseth's rules now require reporters to have an escort inside the Pentagon. According to the official who spoke to The Hill, the general simply went around that. "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," the official said. The official said the leaking "became so critical that" Hegseth acted to protect national security.

Think of a football coach who locks the playbook in his office, then finds his offensive coordinator photocopying it in the parking lot. You don't keep that coordinator on staff for the big game.

And there may be a big game coming. The United States is eight months into its war with Iran, and President Trump is weighing renewed strikes. The J5 drafts strategy and plans for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. A Pentagon official told Fox News that Sylvia was not a central planner of the Iran war, which runs through U.S. Central Command, and that the J5 had been sidelined from that role since spring.

The thank-you note that got pulled

The firing came with an awkward twist. A Joint Staff spokesperson first put out a warm send-off: "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."

Then the Joint Staff took it back. It told The Hill the statement did not "appropriately reflect the full circumstances." Its new line: "Out of respect for the service member and the ongoing personnel process, we will not comment further." His official biography has also been taken offline, CBS reported.

That is a striking fall for a decorated soldier. Sylvia is a 1994 West Point graduate who was wounded in combat, holds the Bronze Star with V and the Purple Heart, and commanded the 101st Airborne Division before he took over the J5 in December. Fox News said it reached out to Sylvia and the Justice Department and did not hear back. He has not been charged with any crime.

The law at issue

Leaking classified war information can cost a lot more than a job. Under 18 U.S.C. 793, anyone with lawful access to national defense information who willfully passes it to someone not entitled to receive it faces up to 10 years in federal prison per count. That is why a Justice Department referral matters more than the firing itself.

The tools are already in place. On July 13, Hegseth announced a joint Pentagon and Justice Department task force to find and prosecute leakers. "Leaked information risks lives," he said in a video posted to X. "Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law."

Trump: 'Big problems'

President Trump weighed in Thursday. He told reporters Sylvia is going to have "big problems, long term problems," Fox News reported. Asked about Democrats' talk of impeaching Hegseth if they win next week, Trump went the other way and praised his war secretary.

Critics will say this is one more general on a long list. Sylvia is the second J5 chief removed under Hegseth, after Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee was forced to retire last October, and The Atlantic's sources tied the firing to Hegseth losing confidence in Sylvia amid friction with Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby. But officials now say three failed polygraphs and secret meetings with reporters are behind it. A general who can't be trusted with secrets can't be trusted with war plans.

What's next

No replacement has been named. Normally a deputy or vice director steps in until the president nominates a new J5 chief for Senate confirmation. The Justice Department now decides whether the case becomes a prosecution, and Parnell's "along with others" suggests more names could follow. For anyone at the Pentagon still on a reporter's speed dial, the message is plain: the polygraph is coming.