Top Army general who was last US soldier to leave Afghanistan is suddenly leaving his post
WASHINGTON (AP) — The commander of the Army’s forces in Europe and Africa, known as the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021, unexpectedly resigned from his post after just 18 months on duty, the Army confirmed late Tuesday.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO’s Allied Land Command, will leave his post on July 2, the military announced to the Associated Press. He is the latest in a group of nearly two dozen senior military leaders to either retire or leave their jobs early under the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has embarked on an effort to slim down the military’s top ranks with the mantra of “fewer generals, more soldiers.”
In the statement, it was stated that Donahue’s deputy, Major General Christopher Norrie, will also fulfill his duties in the meantime.
Donahue, a West Point graduate and career special operations commander, commanded Delta Force units in Iraq and Afghanistan before leading the 82nd Airborne division from July 2020 to March 2022.
It was during this period that he oversaw the security of Hamid Karzai International Airport during the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021. Donahue became the last US soldier to leave the country on August 30, 2021, after nearly 20 years of war sparked by the September 11, 2001 attacks. documented with an iconic photo Image taken with night vision goggles of the general boarding the last C-17 cargo plane leaving the country.
Hegseth and President Donald Trump had made the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan — an operation set in motion by a deal the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban in its first term — a commonplace political punching bag and the subject of a new Pentagon review.
Last May, Hegseth ordered a re-examination of the withdrawal, even though it had been done before. multiple reviews Details of the operation conducted by the Pentagon, US Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which included hundreds of interviews and reviews of video, photographs and other images and data. It’s unclear what specific new information the new review is looking for.
Donahue’s leadership during the evacuation nevertheless drew bipartisan praise. Within the military, he was generally viewed as a senior officer who could lead the service or be selected as Chief of Staff.
An Army official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions told The Associated Press that Donahue’s departure comes as the Army is discussing downgrading U.S. Army Europe and Africa from four stars to three stars.
The move could come amid Hegseth’s ongoing criticism of European allies.
Hegseth told NATO allies last week: will conduct a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe; this review was “designed to ensure that NATO moves rapidly and irreversibly towards Europe and takes steps to assume primary responsibility for the defense of Europe.”
“This is a review in which some countries will fail and others will pass,” he added.
The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the news of Donahue’s departure, which was first reported by The Atlantic.
