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US Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who holds a senior position in the NATO military committee, has been sacked.
Reuters reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s administration removed Chatfield from her role as part of what appears to be an expanding national security purge of top officials.
Chatfield is one of only a handful of female Navy three-star officers. She was the first woman to lead the Naval War College, a position she held until 2023.
Her sacking is the latest to rock the Pentagon, following Thursday’s removal of General Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has yet to release a statement regarding Chatfield’s dismissal at the time of filing this report.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken a cool view of NATO, as well as European allies, since taking office in January. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his first trip to NATO headquarters in February to warn Europe, opens new tab against treating the United States like a “sucker” by making it responsible for its defense.
It was unclear if any official reason was given for Chatfield’s dismissal, or if it was related to any U.S. policy direction on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
One source said the motive may have been related to the Pentagon’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a recent Harvard Magazine interview, Chatfield sounded eager for a time when the qualifications of women in the military would not be held in suspicion.
The article cited one example when Chatfield, herself a helicopter pilot, led an MH-60S Sea Hawk expeditionary helicopter squadron in 2005-2006.
“A mid-grade sailor … asked, ‘Ma’am, can you fly one of those helicopters?’ And I chuckled and said, ‘Yes, actually it’s a prerequisite for this job!'” she was quoted as saying, adding that at the time she had been wearing her wings that showed she was a naval aviator.
Hegseth has made the elimination of DEI initiatives a priority, arguing they are divisive.
He has also ended observances of events such as Black History Month and Women’s History Month, issuing guidance to the U.S. military that “efforts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”
