US Defense Secretary fires top military envoy to NATO

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Tuesday that he had fired the country's top military representative to NATO.

A spokesman said that the decision was "due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead."

However, political analysts have pointed to a large scale purge of security officials appointed by the previous administration in favor of those loyal to current President Donald Trump.

Part of the shakeup includes plans to slash the Pentagon's civilian workforce.

Chatfield has had a distinguished naval career, including being the first woman to serve as president of the Naval War College.

She has been the US military representative to NATO since 2023.

Other top female military leaders fired

At the same time, Hegseth announced that Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the US Navy, was also being removed from her post, as was the vice chief of staff of the Air Force and three top military lawyers.

The first woman to lead the Coast Guard, Linda Fagan, was fired shortly after Trump took office in January. 

Shortly thereafter, Trump dismissed Washington's top military officer, General Charles "CQ" Brown, from office only two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse