Army Europe Commander Submits Retirement Papers After One Year

Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, submitted retirement paperwork earlier this week after serving a little over a year in the post, a Pentagon official said. The Army confirmed to The Hill that Donahue will relinquish command on July 2.

Congressional Reaction Sen.

) said Sunday the departure appears linked to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “grudge” against the Army. “Are you pushing out the truth tellers to surround yourself by yes-men? ” Kaine said. ” Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern at Donahue’s departure.

A Republican senator, a frequent GOP critic of the Trump administration, said Hegseth made an “unforced” error by forcing Donahue out. “Strong leaders are not threatened by accomplished commanders. Weak ones are. His paranoid micromanagement of senior military leaders and promotion lists is pure insecurity dressed up as reform,” the senator wrote Thursday on social media.

A House member who sits on the House Armed Services Committee said the facts about the general’s departure should come out first before observers jump to conclusions. “I don’t automatically presume some improper decision was made by chain of command when somebody is let go and removed from a chain of command that was unexpected,” the representative told The Hill on Thursday.

The representative also noted the panel does not “yet have good answers from the Pentagon” on the matter.

Earlier this month, the House Armed Services Committee adopted a provision in the annual National Defense Authorization Act to require the Pentagon to inform Congress, in writing, why senior military officers were fired or dismissed within five days.