Two More Senior Navy Officers Fired as Pentagon Overhauls Top Ranks

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has implemented yet another round of high-profile military leadership changes by removing the chiefs of the Navy Reserve and Naval Special Warfare Command.

A Navy official verified on Thursday that Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, Chief of Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton "Jamie" Sands III, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, were relieved of their positions after only one year in their respective positions. The firings were not justified. USNI News was the first to disclose their removals.

Lacore, who joined the Navy in 1990, initially served as a helicopter pilot before transitioning to a series of staff positions. On August 23, 2024, she assumed the role of Chief of Navy Reserve, where she was responsible for the service's reserve force of over 100,000 personnel. Sands, a career Navy SEAL who entered the service in 1992, commanded SEAL units during the Afghanistan War and assumed the role of Naval Special Warfare Command on August 2, 2024.

Their terminations coincide with Hegseth's dismissal of Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The Pentagon frequently employs the term "loss of confidence" to describe various issues, including misconduct and poor judgment, which was the reason for Kruse's removal.

The reorganization is the latest in a series of senior officer departures that have occurred since President Donald Trump and Hegseth initiated the process of reorienting military leadership earlier this year. The dismissal of Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations; and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife occurred in February. The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the chief of U.S. Cyber Command have also been removed since that time.

Gen. David Allvin, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, announced his retirement earlier this week. However, numerous outlets claimed that he was under duress to resign. The Navy's highest-ranking officer position was also vacant for nearly six months until Adm. Daryl Caudle was confirmed by the Senate at the end of July.

It is currently unclear who will assume responsibility for the Navy Reserve or Naval Special Warfare Command in the wake of Lacore and Sands' departures.

The recent surge of firings serves as a reminder of the Trump administration's ongoing endeavor to reshape military leadership, which has prompted concerns regarding the stability of the Pentagon's command structure as the administration advocates for more substantial changes within the armed forces.

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