Top U.S. Navy Admiral Removed from NATO Role Amid Wave of Unexplained Firings

The Pentagon announced Monday that Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S.'s highest military representative to NATO's Military Committee, was unceremoniously fired. Her resignation joins an increasing list of high-ranking military and intelligence personnel fired recently, sparking political conjecture.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took Chatfield, a career Navy helicopter pilot with over 30 years of service, off NATO due to a “loss of confidence in her ability to lead,” according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. No more information was given.

Chatfield has led helicopter support squadrons and a provincial rehabilitation team in Afghanistan and received the Distinguished Service Medal and Bronze Star. Reuters reported her termination.

The military uses “loss of confidence” to replace senior officials, but it rarely reveals the exact cause, leaving the public in the dark about performance difficulties or broader controversies.

Chatfield was fired when two Joint Chiefs of Staff members and Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, were abruptly fired.

AAF, a right-wing political group that targets non-conservative authorities, identified Chatfield in December. The letter advised Hegseth to terminate 20 military leaders, including Chatfield.

She is the second officer on that list to be fired without explanation after Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Recently, an Air Force general announced his summer retirement.

Former officials worry about the rise in inexplicable firings. After the AAF's targeted campaign, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned, “This will have deep consequences for military morale and independence.”

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