Christopher LaNeve

Christopher C. LaNeve is a U.S. Army general who assumed the role of acting chief of staff in April 2026, having previously held the position of vice chief of staff from February of that year. Before those assignments, he served as the senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He has served in senior advisory and operational roles across the Army.

As acting Army chief, LaNeve is the senior uniformed figure presiding over structural decisions about how the Army organises its drone and autonomous systems capabilities — including the contested move to fold an experimental drone unit back into conventional infantry. His acknowledgement that the decision predated his tenure signals ongoing institutional debate about where unmanned systems fit within the Army’s force design.