Latest news with #ShoshanaChatfield
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon fires NATO Military Committee representative, who previously led U.S. Naval War College
Then Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield speaks during a change of command ceremony held at the conclusion of her service as president of the U.S. Naval War College on June 23, 2023. Rear Adm. Peter Garvin succeeded her to become the 58th president. (U.S. Navy Photo by Kristopher Burris/Released) U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. representative to NATO's Military Committee, was fired over the weekend, the Associated Press reported Monday. Chatfield served as president of the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, from 2019 to 2023 and was the first woman to lead the college. Her promotion from rear admiral to vice admiral and assignment to NATO in Brussels, Belgium, had been held up for most of 2023 by Alabama's Republican U.S. in protest of the Pentagon's abortion policy. The Pentagon did not confirm that Chatfield had been relieved of her duties. Her firing was first reported by Reuters, which confirmed that allies had been notified that Chatfield had been removed from her job. Chatfield is the third top female officer to be fired since President Donald Trump took office amid a push to erase DEI programs and online content. Trump fired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan the day after he was sworn in. In February, Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he was firing the chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti. 'I want to see members of this team offer each other respect for differences, for diversity, for the dialogue from which ideas and collaboration emerge,' Chatfield told staff and faculty when she arrived at the college in August 2019. 'I want to see academic excellence. I want to see integrity in academics and in research.' In a post on X, Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said he was 'deeply disturbed' by the firing of Chatfield, who is a combat veteran and helicopter pilot. 'Trump's relentless attacks on our alliances and his careless dismissal of decorated military officials make us less safe and weaken our position across the world,' Warner said. The War College has removed a 'small amount' of online content after conducting a review to comply with the Digital Content Refresh memorandum sent out by Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell, said Lt. Cmdr. Pete Pagano, the college's public affairs officer. 'Examples include social media posts about DoD monthly observances and videos of lectures focused on immutable characteristics such as race, ethnicity or sex,' Pagano said in an email. 'None of the affected content was part of or related to our core curriculum.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Navy admiral fired from position as senior NATO planner
A senior Navy officer who represented the U.S. in NATO military planning was fired Monday with no clear explanation from the Pentagon on why they were removed. Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, a career Navy helicopter pilot, had been the U.S.'s top military representative to the NATO Military Committee. A Pentagon spokesperson did not provide an explanation on Chatfield's firing, saying officials 'don't have anything to offer right now.' Chatfield's relief was first reported by Reuters. Chatfield graduated from Boston University in 1987 and trained as a Navy helicopter pilot, flying SH-3, CH-46D and MH-60S in her career, according to an online biography. She later commanded Helicopter Combat Support Squadron HC-5 and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron HSC-25. She also commanded a joint provincial reconstruction team in Farah Province, Afghanistan, in 2008. Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, and Bronze Star Medal. Chatfield's removal comes amid a string of firings with political overtones of senior military officers and intelligence officials. Six senior officers were dismissed from intelligence positions last weekend by President Donald Trump, including Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, the head of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. In February, two members of the joint chiefs of staff — Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti — were both fired without explanation. Though no reason for Chatfield's firing has been released, she was targeted last December by a right-wing political group, the American Accountability Foundation. The organization wrote a letter to Secretary of State Pete Hegseth in December urging him to fire 20 senior military officials, including Chatsworth. The AAF describes its work as 'aggressive research and investigations to advance conservative messaging.' Chatfield is at least the second senior officer on the AAF list to lose their job in an unexplained firing, along with Franchetti. At least one Air Force general on the list has announced his retirement for this July. When the AAF released its list, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the Associated Press that such targeting by partisan groups would have 'considerable, wide and deep consequences' inside the military as officers begin to fear for their careers. 'You will drive people out,' Hagel said. 'It affects morale as widely and deeply as anything — it creates a negative dynamic that will trickle through an organization.' Here is the training that the Army says is no longer mandatory Navy fires commander of Colorado-based Information Operations Command Firefighters help paratrooper finish jump after missing the ground Pregnant pilots and aircrew grounded for first trimester under new Air Force flying rules Mold in privatized housing cost this Navy family their health and reenlistment bonus
