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Last US soldier in Afghanistan General Donahue leaves post
General Chris Donahue, known as the last US soldier to leave Afghanistan, will leave his post as commander of US Army Europe and Africa on July 2.
US Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith announced that General Chris Donahue will hand over his command of US Army Europe and Africa on July 2, 2026. Smith did not provide information on the reason for the general's departure, whose tenure lasted only 18 months.
Donahue is known as the soldier who boarded the last evacuation plane departing from Kabul during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 after nearly 20 years.
Donahue, who began his officer career after graduating from West Point in 1992, commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and later the XVIII Airborne Corps before being appointed to his current post in December 2024.
Smith said, "The Army thanks General Donahue for his leadership," while also announcing that his deputy will temporarily assume command duties.
Donahue's departure coincides with the purge process that President Donald Trump has been carrying out in senior military ranks since returning to office last year. In February 2025, Trump dismissed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles "CQ" Brown without providing a reason.
In this process, the commanders of the US Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, the director of the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three senior military lawyers were also removed from their posts. The Air Force chief of staff announced his retirement in the second year of his four-year term, while the head of US Southern Command retired a year later.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued that the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.
Hegseth also last year ordered a reduction of at least 20 percent in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals, and a 10 percent cut in the total number of generals and flag officers.
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