Last American soldier to leave Afghanistan to command US Army Europe

A career special operations veteran who was featured in a hazy green, night vision photo as the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan has been nominated to pin a fourth star and lead the U.S. Army in Europe.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue’s name was on a list of Pentagon-recommended general officer nominations released Nov. 15. If confirmed by the Senate, he could receive the promotion and take command in the coming weeks or months.

Following decades in the special operations community, Donahue took command of the Army Infantry School and its Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team in 2017. He then served as deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism for the Joint Chiefs of Staff before taking over in May 2019 as commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan.