Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, has submitted his retirement papers, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation, marking the latest high-level officer to leave the military during the second Trump administration.
Donahue had earned the ire of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, multiple sources told CBS News, and two U.S. officials have confirmed to CBS News that the pair only met once in person, in February 2025.
The U.S. Army confirmed in a statement that Donahue will “relinquish command” on July 2. Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, his deputy, will “perform the duties of the commanding general.”
“The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of U.S. Army Europe and Africa,” an Army spokesperson said.
Donahue will also hand over command of NATO’s Allied Land Command in a July 9 ceremony in Turkey, according to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell. The deputy commander, British Army Lt. Gen. Jez Bennett, will serve as acting commander until another American is assigned to the three-star role.
Donahue is a West Point graduate, former Delta Force commander and former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. He helped lead security for the evacuation of the Afghan capital of Kabul in 2021, and was perhaps best known for being the last American soldier on the ground in Afghanistan, before boarding the final U.S. aircraft departing Kabul.
The following year, as Ukraine faced a full-scale Russian invasion, Donahue was among the first senior officers on the ground in Europe to assist the Ukrainian armed forces. He was known for playing a pivotal role in advising the Ukrainians and enabling them to survive the first year of the war.
Defense Department 
It had long been thought that Donahue would eventually be chief of staff of the U.S. Army and would be in the military for a handful of years, sources told CBS News. News of his coming departure has hit hard for some members of the military who have long looked up to Donahue.
Brett McGurk, who served as special presidential envoy to the counter-Islamic State coalition during the Obama and first Trump administrations, told CBS News: “There are few people more responsible for the defeat of ISIS than Chris Donohue. He is among the most consequential commanders of his generation.”
Retired Army Gen. Tony Thomas, former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said of Donahue: “Generational leader. One of the best ever.”
There is an effort by some, including by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, to obtain a waiver for Donahue so he can retire as a four-star general, two sources told CBS News. He was promoted to the rank in December 2024, which under federal code means he needs a presidential waiver to retire with four stars, since he served fewer than three years in that grade.
A colleague described Donahue as “unequivocally one of our Nation’s best,” and a “bold, innovative leader who could also relate to and was respected by both the most experienced special operations [non-commissioned officers] and ordinary soldiers.”
The Atlantic was first to report Donahue’s departure.
CBS News has reached out to the military for comment.
U.S. Central Command 
Several other high-profile military officials have departed the federal government since President Trump’s return to office.
Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — the Army’s top uniformed officer — to step down in April, and the Army officers who led the Transportation and Training Command and the Chaplain Corps were removed from their roles. Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield was also removed in April from her position as the U.S. military representative to NATO’s military committee.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown — was ousted in February 2025, along with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife. Shortly before that, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan was fired.
The head of the U.S. military’s Southern Command, Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, also retired at the end of last year.
