A extremely revered four-star Army basic is stepping down from his publish commanding troopers in Europe and is slated to retire as he has to date not been nominated for a brand new job constant together with his rank by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a number of sources instructed NCS.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of US Army Europe and Africa, is relinquishing command on July 2, a US Army spokeswoman confirmed to NCS. A supply acquainted mentioned Donahue’s stepping down has been in dialog for at the very least two months and mentioned it was not an abrupt resolution.
Donahue’s exit from the command coincides with the deliberate resolution to decrease the required rank for its chief from a four-star basic to a three-star basic and a collection of strikes by Hegseth to alter the US footprint in Europe.
Multiple sources instructed NCS that there was pressure between the Hegseth’s workplace and Donahue’s command, although not essentially instantly between the 2 males. Any high-profile publicity the Army obtained in Europe – even when usually constructive or seemingly on-message with Hegseth’s priorities – “was not well received,” the second supply acquainted mentioned.
Two sources aware of the matter mentioned Hegseth’s workplace has been crucial of Donahue for a while. One of the sources mentioned he has been labeled unfairly by some as an acolyte of retired Gen. Mark Milley, who has drawn intense ire from President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and a few key figures in right-wing media, although the supply mentioned Donahue has retained lots of support in the MAGA universe, notably amongst these with particular operations backgrounds.
Donahue has commanded the Army’s elite Delta Force and served in numerous different particular operations items all through his profession. Before taking on US Army Europe and Africa, Donahue commanded the 82nd Airborne Division after which the 18th Airborne Corps out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina — two jobs usually reserved for promising senior Army officers.
There has additionally been some considering from conservatives and officers round Hegseth that Donahue was accountable for the Afghanistan withdrawal, as a result of he was commanding the 82nd Airborne Division on the time, which responded to the disaster in Kabul. Donahue was famously captured on digital camera strolling off the tarmac and onto the final US plane leaving Kabul on the finish of the chaotic withdrawal and dubbed the final US service member in Afghanistan.
One of the sources acquainted likened inserting the blame on Donahue to “blaming the fire department for showing up to the fire.”
Donahue declined to remark for this story via a command spokesperson. The Office of the Secretary of Defense directed questions to the Army.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith confirmed that Donahue was stepping down from command in July.
“The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of US Army Europe and Africa.”
While Donahue has submitted his paperwork to retire, the sources aware of his departure from US Army Europe and Africa mentioned the Army has not but made a remaining willpower on whether or not to approve the retirement, which means he may nonetheless be nominated to one other place. The two sources acquainted and a congressional aide mentioned Donahue continues to be believed to be in the operating for different four-star jobs, together with chief of workers of the Army.
Several of the sources mentioned different four-star positions, together with commander of US Army Transformation and Training Command in Austin, Texas, or commander of a brand new unmanned methods command, had been additionally being thought-about by the Pentagon.
Donahue’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, will carry out the duties of US Army Europe and Africa commanding basic till a everlasting alternative is nominated, the US official mentioned. Donahue may even relinquish command because the Allied Land Forces commander in a ceremony in Turkey on July 9, in accordance to US Army Col. Martin O’Donnell, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson. British Army Lt. Gen. Jez Bennett will function the appearing commander till one other American is assigned to the three-star position.
Donahue has lengthy been rumored as a selection to finally take over because the Army chief of workers, the highest uniformed place for the service, although Hegseth has just lately elevated his former senior army assistant Gen. Chris LaNeve to the position in an appearing capability, after firing Gen. Randy George. Hegseth’s choice of LaNeve over Donahue has rankled some of the army’s joint chiefs, the 2 sources acquainted mentioned.
“You spend your whole career being apolitical and doing the best job you can under civilian leadership that may or may not agree with you, only to watch the SecDef elevate people who have successfully sucked up to him — I imagine that feels like it cheapens their achievements,” one of the sources mentioned.
Donahue just isn’t anticipated to formally retire for roughly two months, sources instructed NCS, leaving time for Hegseth to choose him for a brand new job. Upon Donahue’s departure, US Army Europe and Africa will transition to a three-star command. And whereas the transition has been anticipated for roughly a 12 months, the change comes amid a number of different modifications to the US army’s footprint in Europe, because the Trump administration has recommended that European nations ought to take major accountability for the protection of the continent.
In May, two US deployments to Europe had been abruptly cancelled by Hegseth following criticism by Trump about support from European allies. The transfer obtained harsh backlash from members of Congress from each events, who criticized the Defense Department for not speaking with lawmakers or European allies who could be impacted. Days later, Trump appeared to somewhat reverse course, saying the US would ship an extra 5,000 troops to Poland, after beforehand saying he would pull 5,000 troops from Germany. It’s nonetheless unclear what that change will appear like in phrases of which items are moved the place.
The US army can be anticipating to see one other three-star US command, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, or SAG-U, get shut down, although the transfer has not but been finalized. Two of the sources acquainted and the congressional aide mentioned the features of the command would nonetheless exist to some extent and be taken over by different teams however the closure of SAG-U — established in 2022 — may even see the reassignment of roughly 300 personnel.
And only a week in the past, Hegseth indicated extra modifications may very well be coming, saying a six-month review of US forces in Europe whereas talking at a NATO assembly in Brussels.
“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors,” Hegseth mentioned.
Davis Winkie’s work at NCS is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). NCS retains full editorial management of the reporting.