Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to NATO’s Military Committee, has been dismissed from her post, marking another high-profile removal in what appears to be a widening national security purge under the Trump administration.
Chatfield, one of the few female three-star officers in the Navy and the first woman to lead the Naval War College, held the NATO post until this week. Her firing follows the recent ouster of General Timothy Haugh, who led both the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, and the removal of Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer and its first female Chief of Naval Operations.
The Trump administration has maintained a skeptical stance toward NATO and Europe since January, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth using his first visit to NATO headquarters in February to criticize allies for relying too heavily on U.S. defense commitments.
It remains unclear whether Chatfield’s dismissal was linked to any specific NATO policy or if a formal explanation was provided. Her removal is part of a broader shakeup that has also seen the exit of Joint Chiefs Chairman General C.Q. Brown and other top military and security officials in recent weeks.
