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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who holds a elder presumption in NATO, has been fired as portion of what appears to beryllium an expanding national security purge of apical officials by the Trump administration, 3 sources told Reuters connected Monday.
The accusation was not instantly confirmed by the Pentagon. However, the sources told Reuters that allies had been notified that Chatfield had been removed from her job.
Chatfield, the U.S. subject typical to the NATO Military Committee, is 1 of lone a fistful of pistillate Navy three-star officers and was the archetypal pistillate to pb the Naval War College, a occupation she held until 2023.
The firing is the latest to stone the Pentagon aft Thursday's removal of General Timothy Haugh, the caput of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. For the Navy, it follows the firing of its apical officer, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the archetypal pistillate to go Chief of Naval Operations.
President Donald Trump's medication has taken a chill presumption of NATO, arsenic good arsenic European allies, since taking bureau successful January. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his archetypal travel to NATO headquarters successful February to warn Europe against treating the United States similar a "sucker" by making it liable for its defense.
It was unclear if immoderate authoritative crushed was fixed for Chatfield's dismissal, oregon if it was related to immoderate U.S. argumentation absorption connected the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
One root said the motive whitethorn person been related to the Pentagon's crackdown connected diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Pentagon did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.
In a caller Harvard Magazine interview, Chatfield sounded anxious for a clip erstwhile the qualifications of women successful the subject would not beryllium held successful suspicion.
The nonfiction cited 1 illustration erstwhile Chatfield, herself a chopper pilot, led an MH-60S Sea Hawk expeditionary chopper squadron successful 2005-2006.
"A mid-grade sailor ... asked, 'Ma'am, tin you alert 1 of those helicopters?' And I chuckled and said, ‘Yes, really it’s a prerequisite for this job!'" she was quoted arsenic saying, adding that astatine the clip 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 besides ended observances of events specified arsenic Black History Month and Women’s History Month, issuing guidance to the U.S. subject that "efforts to disagreement the unit – to enactment 1 radical up of different – erode camaraderie and endanger ngo execution."
In caller weeks, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, arsenic good arsenic other admirals, generals and security staff have besides been dismissed.
Many existent and erstwhile authorities officials person said they interest that any national security official could beryllium suspected of disloyalty by Trump's interior ellipse due to the fact that of perceived links to those who person fallen retired of favour oregon for having served cardinal roles successful the Biden administration.
Uniformed subject officials are expected to beryllium loyal to the U.S. Constitution and autarkic of immoderate enactment oregon governmental movement.
