Top army general who was last US soldier to leave Afghanistan abruptly steps down

Gen Christopher Donahue, commander of forces in Europe and Africa, is leaving after just 18 months in the job

The army’s commander of its forces in Europe and Africa – who was famously the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 – is unexpectedly stepping down from his post after just 18 months in the job, the Army confirmed late Tuesday.

Gen Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa and commander of Nato’s Allied Land Command, will relinquish his command on 2 July, according to an army statement provided to the Associated Press. He is the latest in a line of nearly two dozen top military leaders to either retire or depart their jobs early under the leadership of the defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who has undertaken an effort to thin the ranks of the military’s top brass with the mantra “less generals, more GIs”.

Donahue’s deputy, Maj Gen Christopher Norrie, will perform his duties in the meantime, the statement added.

A West Point graduate and a 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 oversaw the security at Hamid Karzai international airport during the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021. On 30 August 2021, Donahue became the last US soldier to depart the country after nearly 20 years of war sparked by the attacks of September 11, 2001. The moment was documented in an iconic photo taken through night vision goggles that showed the general boarding the last C-17 cargo plane to depart the country.

Hegseth and Donald Trump had made the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan – an operation that was set in motion by a treaty negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration in its first term – a regular political punching bag and the subject of a new Pentagon review.

Last May, Hegseth ordered the new examination of the withdrawal despite there having already been multiple reviews of the operation by the Pentagon, US Central Command, the state department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data. It’s unclear what specific new information the new review is seeking.

Donahue’s leadership during the evacuation had nonetheless drawn bipartisan praise. Within the army, he was widely seen as a top officer who could have led the service or been chosen to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

An army official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to talk about sensitive discussions told the Associated Press that Donahue’s departure comes as the Army is discussing downgrading US Army Europe and Africa from four-star to a three-star command.

This move would come amid ongoing criticism from Hegseth about European allies.

Last week, Hegseth told Nato allies he would be conducting a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe that is “designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe”.

“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors,” he added.

The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the news of Donahue’s departure, which was first reported by the Atlantic.