The U.S. Army’s commander of its forces in Europe and Africa — who was the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 — is unexpectedly resigning after just 18 months on the job, the Army confirmed late Tuesday.
General Christopher Donahue, commander-in-chief of the United States Army in Europe and Africa and commander of the NATO Land Command, will surrender on July 2, according to the Army’s statement.
He is the latest in a line 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 made efforts to thin the ranks of senior military leaders with the mantra “fewer generals, more GIs”.
Donahue’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, will assume his duties in the meantime, the statement added.
A West Point graduate and career special operations commander, Donahue commanded Delta Force units in Iraq and Afghanistan before leading the 82nd Airborne Division from July 2020 to March 2022.
It was during that period that he was brought in to restore security at the Hamid Karzai International Airport during the chaos of the United States leaving the country in 2021.
