Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal was the U.S. commander in Afghanistan until last week.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was fired by President Obama last week as the top U.S. general in the war in Afghanistan, has told the Army that he will retire.
An Army spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, said McChrystal, 55, notified the service of his plans on Monday but has not yet submitted formal retirement papers. It is not clear when the general will leave the service, but the process usually takes a few months.
In announcing McChrystal’s ouster on Wednesday, Obama praised his long Army career but said his intemperate remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine article that appeared earlier in the week could not be abided.
McChrystal apologized for the remarks and flew to Washington to resign as commanding general of the war.
He had been promoted to the selective rank of four-star general last year. It is not clear whether McChrystal will be able to retain that rank in retirement. Under Army rules, a general must serve three years as a four-star officer to retain that rank, with its prestige and retirement benefits.
The secretary of the Army can allow officers with as little as two years of service to keep their rank in retirement, Collins said.
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