General who was last US soldier out of Afghanistan to step down
General Chris Donahue — the last American soldier to depart Afghanistan and the current commander of US Army forces in Europe and Africa — will leave his position early next month, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Donahue “will relinquish command on July 2, 2026,” Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in a statement that did not provide a reason for the general’s departure after an unusually short 18-month stint in the job.
His deputy “will perform the duties of the commanding general,” Smith said, adding: “The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of US Army Europe and Africa.”
Donahue — a West Point graduate who was commissioned as an Army officer in 1992 — was the final US soldier to board the last evacuation flight out of Kabul as the United States exited the country in 2021 after some 20 years of war.
He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and later the XVIII Airborne Corps before taking up his current position in December 2024.
Since returning to office early last year, US President Donald Trump has overseen a purge of top military personnel, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February 2025.
Other senior officers pushed out include the heads of the US Army, Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the US Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers.
The chief of staff of the Air Force also announced his retirement without explanation just two years into a four-year term, while the head of US Southern Command retired a year into his tenure.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.
Last year, the Pentagon chief additionally ordered at least a 20 percent cut in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the US military, as well as a 10 percent cut in the overall number of general and flag officers.
