Top Army general who was last US soldier to leave Afghanistan is
suddenly leaving his post
[June 24, 2026]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 U.S. Army Europe and
Africa and commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command, will relinquish his
command on July 2, 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 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 U.S. withdrawal from the
country in 2021. On Aug. 30, 2021, Donahue became the last U.S. soldier
to depart the country after nearly 20 years of war sparked by the
attacks of Sept. 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 President 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, U.S. 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.
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U.S. Army General Christopher Donahue, left, commanding general of
the 82nd Airborne Division, and Polish General Wojciech Marchwica
speak to journalists after unloading vehicles from a transport plane
arriving from Fort Bragg at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in
southeastern Poland, on Feb. 6, 2022. (AP Photo, File)
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 U.S.
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.
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