00:00Another senior military official has been ousted by the Trump administration as the
00:05hostilities in Iran rumble on.
00:08Navy Secretary John Pellan was fired on Wednesday during the US Navy's most consequential mission
00:14in decades, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
00:18This marks the second major US military leadership shakeup since the Iran war began in late February.
00:24As Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have sought
00:30to remove a series of Pentagon leaders who are seen to be at odds with the administration.
00:35Pellan's departure comes just weeks after Hegseth fired the Army's top officer, General
00:41Randy George, and two other senior generals, the Chief of Chaplains and the Commander of
00:47Army Transformation and Training Command.
00:49These are just the latest in a string of abrupt firings that have taken place since the start
00:54of this Trump administration.
00:56In fact, Trump and Hegseth have completely transformed the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
01:02That's the US military's top brass.
01:04Just two officials remain from before President Trump took office.
01:09As with many of the firings, Pentagon officials did not give a reason for the latest departure.
01:15President Trump and Secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed,
01:20a senior administration official told The Independent on Wednesday evening.
01:25Since becoming head of the Pentagon, Hegseth has sought to eliminate diversity and inclusion policies
01:32and promised to make all promotions based on merit.
01:36Hegseth has made other changes to military membership, including removing transgender service members.
01:42This latest firing comes amid a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war, which has engulfed the Middle East in
01:50violence, killing thousands, including 13 US service members, while surging fuel prices and stoking fears of global economic upheaval.
01:59The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
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