Top army general who was last US soldier to leave Afghanistan abruptly steps down

Gen Christopher Donahue, commander of forces in Europe and Africa, is leaving after just 18 months in the job

The army's commander of its forces in Europe and Africa - who was famously the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 - is unexpectedly stepping down from his post after just 18 months in the job, the Army confirmed late Tuesday.

Gen Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa and commander of Nato's Allied Land Command, will relinquish his command on 2 July, according to an army statement provided to the Associated Press. He is the latest in a line of nearly two dozen top military leaders to either retire or depart their jobs early under the leadership of the defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who has undertaken an effort to thin the ranks of the military's top brass with the mantra less generals, more GIs".