US Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Hatfield Photo: Wikipedia
Donald Trump’s administration has fired US Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who held a senior position in NATO, Reuters reports, citing three sources. This is another step in a wave of dismissals in the US national security sector carried out by the new White House team.
Hatfield is one of the few female three-star officers in the US Navy. She represented the United States on the NATO Committee of Military Representatives, and before that, she was the first woman to head the U.S. Naval War College.
Although the Pentagon has not officially confirmed her dismissal, US allies have been notified of the change. The move sparked outrage among Democrats. Senator Jack Reed called it a ‘disgrace’ and accused the Trump administration of harming the army.
The reasons for the dismissal have not been officially announced, but sources suggest that it is related to the Pentagon’s tough policy against diversity, equality and inclusion programmes. The new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has shut down events such as Women’s History Month and has set a course for ‘unity over identity’.
This is not the first high-profile dismissal: earlier, Trump removed General Timothy Howe from the NSA, as well as Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first female chief of naval operations.
