2026-06-24T22:00:01.759Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/donahue-hegseth-europe-retirement
多名消息人士向美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）透露，一位备受敬重的陆军四星上将即将卸任驻欧美军指挥官职务并计划退休，原因是国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟迄今尚未为他提名与其军衔相符的新职位。
美国陆军女发言人向CNN证实，克里斯托弗·多纳休将军——美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部司令——将于7月2日交出指挥权。一位知情人士表示，多纳休的离任计划已酝酿至少两个月，并非仓促决定。
多纳休的卸任恰逢美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部计划将司令的军衔要求从四星上将下调至三星上将，同时也是赫格斯瑟调整美国在欧洲军事存在的一系列举措之一。
多名消息人士告诉CNN，赫格斯瑟的办公室与多纳休的司令部之间存在紧张关系，尽管两人之间未必有直接冲突。第二位知情人士称，美军在欧洲获得的任何高调曝光——即便总体上是正面的，或是看似符合赫格斯瑟的优先事项——“都不受欢迎”。
两位知情人士表示，赫格斯瑟的办公室长期以来一直对多纳休持批评态度。其中一位消息人士称，有人不公平地将他贴上了退役将军马克·米利追随者的标签，而米利一直遭到唐纳德·特朗普总统、赫格斯瑟以及右翼媒体一些关键人物的强烈抨击。不过该消息人士补充说，多纳休在“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）阵营中仍拥有不少支持者，尤其是在特种作战背景的人士当中。
多纳休曾指挥美军精锐三角洲部队，职业生涯中曾在多个特种作战单位服役。在接管美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部之前，多纳休先后指挥了第82空降师和北卡罗来纳州布拉格堡的第18空降军——这两个职位通常是前途光明的高级陆军军官的储备岗位。
保守派人士和赫格斯瑟身边的官员也曾将阿富汗撤军的责任归咎于多纳休，因为当时他正指挥第82空降师应对喀布尔的危机。多纳休曾被镜头拍到在混乱的撤军结束时走下停机坪登上最后一架离开喀布尔的美国军机，因此被称为最后一名在阿富汗的美国军人。
一位知情人士将归咎于多纳休的行为比作“指责消防队赶到了火灾现场”。
多纳休通过司令部发言人拒绝就此次报道置评。美国国防部办公室将相关问题转交陆军回应。
陆军发言人辛西娅·O·史密斯证实，多纳休将于7月卸任指挥职务。
“陆军感谢多纳休将军对美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部的领导。”
尽管多纳休已提交退休申请，但多位了解其离任情况的消息人士表示，陆军尚未最终确定是否批准其退休申请，这意味着他仍有可能被提名担任其他职务。两位知情人士和一名国会助手表示，多纳休仍被认为在竞争其他四星上将职位，包括陆军参谋长。
多位消息人士称，五角大楼也在考虑其他四星上将职位，例如得克萨斯州奥斯汀的美国陆军转型与训练司令部司令，或是新成立的无人系统司令部司令。
美国官员表示，多纳休的副手、少将克里斯托弗·诺里将在永久接任者提名前代理美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部司令职务。据北约盟军最高司令部发言人、美国陆军上校马丁·奥唐奈透露，多纳休还将于7月9日在土耳其的一场仪式上卸任北约陆军部队指挥官职务。英国陆军中将耶兹·贝内特将担任代理司令，直至另一名美军军官被任命担任这一三星职位。
多纳休长期以来一直被传有可能最终接任陆军参谋长——这是美军中最高级别的现役军官职务。不过赫格斯瑟在解雇兰迪·乔治将军后，最近已将其前高级军事助理克里斯·拉内夫将军提拔为代理陆军参谋长。两位知情人士表示，赫格斯瑟选择拉内夫而非多纳休，已经令美军参谋长联席会议的一些成员感到不满。
“你整个职业生涯都保持政治中立，在文职领导麾下尽最大努力工作，无论对方是否与你政见相合，结果却看到国防部长提拔那些成功讨好他的人——我想这会让人觉得自己的成就被贬低了，”其中一位消息人士说道。
消息人士告诉CNN，多纳休预计不会在大约两个月内正式退休，这为赫格斯瑟提名他担任新职务留下了时间。在多纳休离任后，美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部将转为三星级司令部。尽管这一调整已酝酿约一年，但此时发生变动正值美国对欧洲军事部署进行多项调整之际，特朗普政府此前曾暗示欧洲国家应承担起欧洲大陆防务的主要责任。
今年5月，赫格斯瑟突然取消了两次向欧洲部署美军的计划，此前特朗普批评欧洲盟友的支持力度不足。这一举动遭到两党国会议员的强烈反对，他们批评国防部未与受影响的议员或欧洲盟友沟通。几天后，特朗普似乎略微改变了立场，表示在此前宣布将从德国撤军5000人后，美国将向波兰增派5000名士兵。目前仍不清楚此次调整将涉及哪些部队调往何处。
美国军方还预计将关闭另一个三星级美国司令部——乌克兰安全援助小组（SAG-U），不过该决定尚未最终敲定。两位知情人士和一名国会助手表示，该司令部的职能将在一定程度上保留下来，由其他机构接管，但关闭这个2022年成立的SAG-U司令部还将导致约300名人员被重新分配。
就在一周前，赫格斯瑟在布鲁塞尔举行的北约会议上发表讲话时暗示可能会有更多调整，并宣布对美国在欧洲的驻军进行为期六个月的审查。
“这场审查中，有些国家会不及格，有些国家则会以优异成绩通过，”赫格斯瑟说道。
戴维斯·温基在CNN的报道得到了Outrider基金会与新闻资助合作伙伴（JFP）的支持。CNN对此次报道保留完全的编辑控制权。
Senior US General in Europe set to retire amid Hegseth’s review of US support for NATO allies
2026-06-24T22:00:01.759Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/donahue-hegseth-europe-retirement
A highly respected four-star Army general is stepping down from his post commanding soldiers in Europe and is slated to retire as he has thus far not been nominated for a new job consistent with his rank by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, multiple sources told CNN.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of US Army Europe and Africa, is relinquishing command on July 2, a US Army spokeswoman confirmed to CNN. A source familiar said Donahue’s stepping down has been in conversation for at least two months and said it was not an abrupt decision.
Donahue’s exit from the command coincides with the planned decision to lower the required rank for its chief from a four-star general to a three-star general and a series of moves by Hegseth to alter the US footprint in Europe.
Multiple sources told CNN that there has been tension between the Hegseth’s office and Donahue’s command, though not necessarily directly between the two men. Any high-profile publicity the Army received in Europe – even when generally positive or seemingly on-message with Hegseth’s priorities – “was not well received,” the second source familiar said.
Two sources familiar with the matter said Hegseth’s office has been critical of Donahue for some time. One of the sources said he has been labeled unfairly by some as an acolyte of retired Gen. Mark Milley, who has drawn intense ire from President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and some key figures in right-wing media, though the source said Donahue has retained plenty of support in the MAGA universe, particularly among those with special operations backgrounds.
Donahue has commanded the Army’s elite Delta Force and served in various other special operations units throughout his career. Before taking over US Army Europe and Africa, Donahue commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and then the 18th Airborne Corps out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina — two jobs typically reserved for promising senior Army officers.
There has also been some thinking from conservatives and officials around Hegseth that Donahue was responsible for the Afghanistan withdrawal, because he was commanding the 82nd Airborne Division at the time, which responded to the crisis in Kabul. Donahue was famously captured on camera walking off the tarmac and onto the last US aircraft leaving Kabul at the end of the chaotic withdrawal and dubbed the last US service member in Afghanistan.
One of the sources familiar likened placing the blame on Donahue to “blaming the fire department for showing up to the fire.”
Donahue declined to comment for this story through a command spokesperson. The Office of the Secretary of Defense directed questions to the Army.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith confirmed that Donahue was stepping down from command in July.
“The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of US Army Europe and Africa.”
While Donahue has submitted his paperwork to retire, the sources familiar with his departure from US Army Europe and Africa said the Army has not yet made a final determination on whether to approve the retirement, meaning he could still be nominated to another position. The two sources familiar and a congressional aide said Donahue is still believed to be in the running for other four-star jobs, including chief of staff of the Army.
Several of the sources said other four-star positions, including commander of US Army Transformation and Training Command in Austin, Texas, or commander of a new unmanned systems command, were also being considered by the Pentagon.
Donahue’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, will perform the duties of US Army Europe and Africa commanding general until a permanent replacement is nominated, the US official said. Donahue will also relinquish command as the Allied Land Forces commander in a ceremony in Turkey on July 9, according to US Army Col. Martin O’Donnell, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson. British Army Lt. Gen. Jez Bennett will serve as the acting commander until another American is assigned to the three-star role.
Donahue has long been rumored as a choice to eventually take over as the Army chief of staff, the top uniformed position for the service, though Hegseth has recently elevated his former senior military assistant Gen. Chris LaNeve to the role in an acting capacity, after firing Gen. Randy George. Hegseth’s selection of LaNeve over Donahue has rankled some of the military’s joint chiefs, the two sources familiar said.
“You spend your whole career being apolitical and doing the best job you can under civilian leadership that may or may not agree with you, only to watch the SecDef elevate people who have successfully sucked up to him — I imagine that feels like it cheapens their achievements,” one of the sources said.
Donahue is not expected to officially retire for roughly two months, sources told CNN, leaving time for Hegseth to select him for a new job. Upon Donahue’s departure, US Army Europe and Africa will transition to a three-star command. And while the transition has been anticipated for roughly a year, the change comes amid several other changes to the US military’s footprint in Europe, as the Trump administration has suggested that European countries should take primary responsibility for the defense of the continent.
In May, two US deployments to Europe were abruptly cancelled by Hegseth following criticism by Trump about support from European allies. The move received harsh backlash from members of Congress from both parties, who criticized the Defense Department for not communicating with lawmakers or European allies who would be impacted. Days later, Trump appeared to somewhat reverse course, saying the US would send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, after previously saying he would pull 5,000 troops from Germany. It’s still unclear what that change will look like in terms of which units are moved where.
The US military is also expecting to see another three-star US command, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, or SAG-U, get shut down, though the move has not yet been finalized. Two of the sources familiar and the congressional aide said the functions of the command would still exist to some extent and be taken over by other groups but the closure of SAG-U — established in 2022 — will also see the reassignment of roughly 300 personnel.
And just a week ago, Hegseth indicated more changes could be coming, announcing a six-month review of US forces in Europe while speaking at a NATO meeting in Brussels.
“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors,” Hegseth said.
Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.
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