The Army’s commander of its troops in Europe and Africa, General Christopher Donahue, received praise from Republican lawmakers after news broke that he was abruptly retiring.Donahue, the commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and the commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command, will give up his duties next week, and his deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie will take over in an interim capacity.“I think he is owed an explanation,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told the Washington Examiner.
While the Pentagon declined to comment about the announcement, Donahue’s recognition as the last U.S. service member to leave Afghanistan following the two-decadelong war following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, may have prompted Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s decision, considering his repeated criticisms of the withdrawal. Hegseth announced in March 2025 that the department would undergo another comprehensive review of the withdrawal, which is still ongoing.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)
