Days before the Army’s top officer was abruptly fired earlier this year, he was advised by a fellow general now vying to replace him to stop the military’s investigation into an unauthorized helicopter flyby of musician Kid Rock’s Tennessee estate, three people familiar with the matter said.
Gen. Randy George, whom Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed as the Army chief of staff without explanation, felt it was important to follow typical protocol and determine whether any safety regulations had been violated during the March 28 flyby, these people said. Like some others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the episode.
Gen. Chris LaNeve, the Army’s No. 2 officer, told George that Hegseth did not want the investigation to proceed, one person said. The two others said that George later confided in colleagues about the encounter with LaNeve and seemed troubled by it. George told them that LaNeve suggested it would be best if the review was scuttled, those people said.
The revelation, which has not previously been reported, adds a new layer of understanding to Hegseth’s potential motivations for firing George on April 2. Kid Rock, whose legal name is Robert Ritchie, is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and avowed critic of many Democratic politicians and causes.
Through a spokesman, George, who is now retired, declined to comment. Army officials did not respond to questions about LaNeve, whose candidacy for the chief of staff job faces resistance in Congress.
Hegseth, in a statement provided to The Washington Post, did not directly address the discussion between the two generals and described LaNeve as “precisely the kind of leader the U.S. Army needs right now,” interested in strengthening the Army, and “not interested in playing politics in Washington.”
“He is a back-to-basics, no politics, no-nonsense General — exactly what President Trump expects,” Hegseth’s statement said. “The critics coming after him are the same out-of-touch so-called insiders who’ve spent years undermining our military with woke policies and endless wars. They hold deep grudges against any commander willing to put America and our troops first, but their days of influence are over.”
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, said that the new reporting about George’s departure amounted to a “regurgitating” of a “tired, old story simply to manufacture drama.”
Hegseth and his advisers have for months declined to say what precipitated George’s ouster, even when asked directly by Republican and Democratic lawmakers who objected to the firing. He has long been at odds with the service’s senior leadership — including Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a fellow Trump appointee who at one time was viewed as a potential replacement for Hegseth. Driscoll is now expected to leave the administration soon, perhaps within weeks, officials said.
Others familiar with George’s firing have said that multiple factors were probably at play, including his close working relationship with Driscoll.
Since taking charge of the Pentagon in January 2025, Hegseth, a former Fox News personality who spent years in the Army National Guard, has overseen the dismissal of more than two dozen top officers. The firings typically occur without cause, though he has complained broadly that the military’s upper ranks are insufficiently loyal to the president or caught in old ways of thinking. Many of those removed have been women and minorities.
LaNeve’s actions in the Kid Rock investigation could further complicate his ascension to the Army’s top post. While he has filled the role on an acting basis since George’s ouster nearly five months ago, Trump administration officials have not yet formally nominated him to become the chief of staff amid concerns that he lacks support within the Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee, said three separate people familiar with the views on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican and retired Army National Guard officer initially skeptical of Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon, opposes LaNeve, these people said. Both George and Gen. James Mingus, another top Army officer forced out by Hegseth, are from Iowa.
Without votes from Democrats, nominees require unanimous Republican support on the committee to advance.
Ernst’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported her opposition to LaNeve.
Parnell, Hegseth’s spokesman, downplayed the situation, saying in his statement that Pentagon officials are “actively coordinating with our Senate partners to lock in the optimal moment to formally submit his nomination, and we intend to do so.”
On March 31, three days after two AH-64 Apache helicopters flying outside Nashville buzzed the home of Kid Rock, Army officials with the 101st Airborne Division at nearby Fort Campbell announced they were grounding the pilots and launching an administrative investigation.
Video shared on social media by the musician showed the aircraft at low altitudes. In his post, he also criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is a frequent critic of the Trump administration. “This is a level of respect,” Kid Rock wrote, that Newsom “will never know.”
At the time, the Army said it also was reviewing the flight path of a helicopter that flew the same day over a “No Kings” protest against Trump in nearby Clarksville, Tennessee. Flight tracker data showed that the aircraft dipped to as low as 625 feet, at one point circling over where protesters were gathered.
When the incidents attracted unflattering news coverage, Hegseth promptly intervened. He terminated the Army’s investigation and exonerated the aircrews involved — encouraging them to “Carry on, Patriots.”
A few weeks later, Hegseth and Kid Rock flew in Apache helicopters from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, located in suburban D.C. Parnell said then that it was part of a broader community relations event.
LaNeve, 59, was not viewed by his Army peers as a likely future chief of staff before the Trump administration came into office, but he caught the president’s attention with a congratulatory call during the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball, people familiar with the matter said. At the time, LaNeve was commanding U.S. soldiers in South Korea and called the president from there.
LaNeve was moved into a more influential position as Hegseth’s senior military aide after the defense secretary’s team ousted Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from the role the following month.
This past fall, Hegseth elevated LaNeve again, nominating him to become the Army’s vice chief of staff while forcing Mingus into retirement early.
In a May hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, LaNeve faced sharp questions from Republicans over the Pentagon’s decision to cancel the deployment of an Army brigade to Poland, a NATO ally that borders Ukraine.
When Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) asked him about the Poland decision, LaNeve declined to say why the deployment was canceled, arguing he was not part of the military’s “policy side.”
“But you’re the chief of staff of the Army,” Bacon responded, noting his acting role.
George had been expected to serve as the Army’s chief of staff until fall 2027, completing a typical four-year assignment in the role. Hegseth asked him to retire early during a phone call, news of which was leaked minutes later to CBS News, officials have said previously. The move thwarted any effort by Driscoll, the Army secretary, to save the general’s career before the decision was publicized.
Hegseth’s campaign of firings and forced retirements has removed a number of other candidates who may otherwise have been considered for elevation to Army chief of staff, officials said. They include Mingus, who retired early this year; Gen. David Hodne, who was fired without explanation in April; and Gen. Christopher Donahue, who is expected to retire soon after Hegseth stonewalled efforts within the Army and on Capitol Hill to extend his career.
Amid the purge, Driscoll has begun to consider his own departure, officials familiar with the matter said. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that he could leave the Trump administration by the end of the year. That appears likely, officials said, but no firm plan has emerged yet.
As The Post and others reported in the immediate aftermath of George’s firing, aides to Hegseth have touted Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, becoming Army secretary. Parnell has told colleagues privately that he is interested in the job should it become open.
