US Army removes Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza as V Corps commander
The Pentagon confirmed the abrupt removal but gave no reason for the decision two months before his scheduled departure
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps presents a coin to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jesus Arce Calderon during V Corps’ Best Squad Competition awards ceremony at Grafenwohr, Germany, June 11, 2026.Cpl. Grant Hockley/US Army
Photograph: abc News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza was removed as commander of the Army’s V Corps, which oversees US forces in Europe and coordinates support for Ukraine.
- The Army confirmed the removal on 9 August 2026 but did not disclose the reason, calling it an internal matter.
- Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey, already Senate-confirmed for the role, will assume command in October as previously scheduled.
- No right-rated outlet carried the story, though four left-rated and two centre-rated outlets did.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
63/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
15/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The US Army removed Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza from command of V Corps in recent days. The Army confirmed the decision on 9 August 2026 but did not explain why. Costanza had been in the role since April 2024 and was due to leave in October 2026.
V Corps oversees US Army operations across Europe, including support for Ukraine and coordination with NATO allies. It is headquartered partly in Poland, where the US has positioned troops following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey, who was already confirmed by the Senate to take over the role, will replace Costanza in October. Brig. Gen. John B. Mountford is serving as acting commander in the interim.
The four left-rated digests led on the abrupt nature of Costanza’s removal and the lack of explanation. The Kyiv Post and Task & Purpose both noted that the decision came less than two months before his scheduled departure. ABC News, the only left-rated outlet to publish a full report, added that a source said the removal was unrelated to broader military leadership changes under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
ABC News quoted a service spokesperson saying the circumstances of the removal were unclear. It also reported that Costanza’s departure was not linked to any political implications, according to a source familiar with the matter. The outlet described the removal as part of a wider pattern of senior officers being sidelined without public explanation.
The two centre-rated digests, from The Hill and Political Wire, both carried the Army’s confirmation of Costanza’s removal. The Hill added that sources said the decision was referred to the "appropriate authority" and was not politically motivated. Neither outlet provided further detail on the reason for the removal.
No right-rated outlet carried the story. None of the digests or the single full report mentioned President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to position 5,000 US troops in Poland after criticism of a brigade deployment’s cancellation.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 8 Aug 2026, 16:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated outlets reported that the US Army removed Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza as commander of V Corps in early August 2026, nearly two months before his scheduled departure. All four led on the lack of public explanation for his removal. Two digests and two full reports noted the timing and Costanza’s role overseeing US military operations in Europe, including support for Ukraine.
- Joe.My.God. and ABC News linked the removal to a broader pattern of senior officer dismissals under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing over two dozen high-ranking officers removed or sidelined. ABC News added that a source said Costanza’s case was unrelated to that pattern. Joe.My.God. described the removal as "Hegseth decapitates another top general" and suggested insecurity as a motive.
- Kyiv Post and Task & Purpose did not mention Hegseth’s role or the broader shake-up. None of the four outlets quoted Costanza or provided his perspective on the removal. ABC News was the only one to name his replacement, Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey, and the acting commander, Brig. Gen. John B. Mountford.
Centre
2 rated outlets
We have not written our reading of the centre coverage of this story. The centre-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Pentagon Removes General Overseeing Ukraine Military Support (opens Kyiv Post in a new tab)
- Army removes head of V Corps from command (opens Task & Purpose in a new tab)
Task & Purpose
- Hegseth Abruptly Fires Top US General In Europe - Joe.My.God. (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outlet
- A top US general in Europe abruptly removed from command (opens ABC News in a new tab)
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
