In a dramatic Friday night purge, President Donald Trump took decisive action to avoid a repeat of his first term when he tussled with senior military leaders, by firing America’s top general and removing others in an effort to ensure he has a fully compliant Pentagon.

President Donald Trump on Friday fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of U.S. military leadership.

The decision to fire Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot, broke a tradition in which the Joint Chiefs chairman remains in place with a new president.