The unexpected departure makes Donahue the latest senior military leader to leave his position during a broader Pentagon restructuring effort led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has repeatedly called for reducing the number of senior officers while expanding resources devoted to frontline troops.

According to an Army statement, Donahue will relinquish command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa as well as NATO’s Allied Land Command. His deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, will assume his responsibilities on an interim basis.

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Donahue spent much of his career in special operations forces, including command assignments with Delta Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. He later led the 82nd Airborne Division from 2020 to 2022.

Donahue became internationally known during the final stages of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. As commander responsible for security operations at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, he oversaw the evacuation effort that ended nearly two decades of American military involvement in the country.

On Aug. 30, 2021, Donahue boarded the final U.S. military aircraft departing Afghanistan, becoming the last American service member to leave the country. Images of the general walking toward a C-17 transport aircraft under night-vision conditions became one of the defining photographs of the withdrawal.

The Afghanistan exit has remained a politically contentious issue in Washington. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly criticized the withdrawal, despite the operation having originated from an agreement negotiated between the Taliban and the first Trump administration.

Last month, Hegseth ordered a fresh Pentagon review of the withdrawal. The move came after multiple previous examinations conducted by the Department of Defense, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and congressional committees, which collectively reviewed extensive operational records, interviews and video evidence.

Despite criticism surrounding the evacuation, Donahue earned praise from military officials and lawmakers from both major political parties for his handling of the operation. Within defense circles, he had been viewed as a potential future Army chief of staff or candidate for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His departure also comes as the Army evaluates a possible restructuring of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. According to an Army official familiar with internal discussions, the command could be downgraded from a four-star headquarters to a three-star command as part of broader force adjustments.

The review coincides with renewed Pentagon scrutiny of America’s military posture in Europe and growing calls from U.S. officials for European allies to assume greater responsibility for regional defense.

Speaking to NATO allies last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon would conduct a six-month assessment of U.S. force deployments in Europe to determine whether alliance members are moving toward taking primary responsibility for the continent’s security.

The Pentagon has not publicly commented on the reasons behind Donahue’s departure.

The increase marked the 11th consecutive annual rise in global defense spending and pushed military expenditure to 2.5% of global gross domestic product, the highest share since 2009, according to SIPRI.

The U.S., China and Russia remained the world’s three largest military spenders, accounting for a combined $1.48 trillion, or 51% of total global military expenditure.

U.S. military spending fell 7.5% to $954 billion in 2025, primarily because no new financial military assistance for Ukraine was approved after years of extensive wartime support following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.SIPRI said U.S. military funding for Ukraine totaled $127 billion over the previous three years.

“The decline in U.S. military expenditure in 2025 is likely to be short-lived,” the institute said, noting that spending approved by Congress for 2026 had already risen to more than $1 trillion and could climb further to $1.5 trillion in 2027.

Europe was the main driver of the increase in global military spending, with regional expenditure rising 14% to $864 billion as governments accelerated rearmament programs amid continued security concerns linked to the war in Ukraine and broader NATO defense commitments.

Spending by Russia and Ukraine continued to rise in the fourth year of the war, while NATO members in Central and Western Europe recorded the sharpest annual increase since the end of the Cold War, reflecting sustained efforts to strengthen deterrence and replenish military stockpiles.

SIPRI said the combination of immediate security crises and long-term military modernization plans suggested the upward trend would likely continue through 2026 and beyond.“Given the range of current crises, as well as many states’ long-term military spending targets, this growth will probably continue,” the report said.

In the Middle East, military expenditure showed mixed movement.Israel’s defense spending fell 4.9% to $48.3 billion as the war in Gaza eased in 2025, reducing the intensity of active operations compared with the previous year.Iran’s military spending declined for the second consecutive year, falling 5.6% to $7.4 billion, reflecting continued economic pressures and fiscal constraints.

The figures underscore how geopolitical tensions from Eastern Europe to the Middle East continue to shape defense budgets even as shifts in U.S. policy alter the pace and distribution of military support among allies.