On 3 December 2024, then LTG Christopher Donahue was promoted to four-star general when a Republican senator dropped his hold on the promotion.1 Graduating from West Point in 1992, Donahue had deployed over 20 times with both conventional and special operations forces. He had commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps stateside and on deployment. Seemingly, it was a well-deserved promotion for an officer who had ‘paid his dues.’

On 10 December 2024, now GEN Donahue took command of the US Army’s Europe and Africa missions. The Stars and Stripes, another cheerleader for general officers, cheered him as a ‘comic book action hero.’ Donahue stated, “We have to act like a conflict is going to occur in the next hour,” during a speech to troops at the ceremony. “We must be relentless.” Donahue said the “litmus test” soldiers will face during his tenure will be preparing the command for battle as if their own relatives were being sent to fight in Europe. “And if you cannot answer that question (in the affirmative), need to rethink what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.” 2The irony is that he did command during an actual conflict, lacked the courage to “rethink” actions, and he was accordingly found wanting. While a brave warrior as a young officer, he has no honorable accomplishments as a general aside from loyalty to the general officer corps and perhaps himself.

OBEDIENT ‘YES MAN’ IN KABUL 2021

The 82nd Airborne Division is one of the most deployable units in the US military. It is not surprising that they were tapped to quickly fly to Kabul to deal with the crisis in AUG 2021. Naturally the division commander (then MG Donahue) would be ordered to go and lead the troops. Admittedly, this possibly put Donahue in a difficult position. On the one hand, he must obey lawful orders or relinquish his command. However, at the same time, he had to have known he was being sent to finish up the ‘dirty work’ of the US military that was on full display for the world to see. Even CNN reporter Clarissa Ward commented publicly about the disaster – “If this isn’t failure, what does failure look like.”3

Donahue could and should have refused the mission. It would have cost him his command and likely his career. In the annals of history, though, he would most certainly been revered as a hero, the ONLY commander in nearly 20 years that would have called the Afghanistan war the disaster it was and refused to continue the shameful prosecution of the war by senior military and civilian leaders. He would likely have been a hero among veterans and the shocked public alike. That was his “great man” moment in history to do the RIGHT THING. Instead, he caved and dutifully carried out the orders. It is likely no coincidence he was subsequently promoted to 3 and 4 star general. The message was clear and he understood it. Honor is less important than obedience and this realization is what gets modern generals promoted. The memory of over 2,000 dead servicemembers is dimmed by the shininess of the 3rd general star. Has the concept of DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY from his West Point alma mater been expunged from his life?

Defenders will likely rush to his defense and say his resignation would not have changed events. In the short run that is true. But, a general willing to sacrifice his career to save his reputation and honor and more importantly to make a stand to restore meaning to the sacrifices of our service members would do a far greater good as it would have spurred uncomfortable conversations about the culpability of generals in the war. America’s snowflake generals cannot stomach that possibility. Further, it may have caused generals to take heed so that they may actually speak up BEFORE future military blunders take place, even though the outcomes are obvious for all to see. The problem is, few generals had the courage to actually speak up. Whether Afghanistan, COVID, DEI, or any other issue, the generals largely remained silent. Donahue was no different; hence his promotion.

2021 KABUL – ABBEY GATE BOMBING – NO ACCOUNTABILITY

On 26 AUG 2021, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive at the Abbey Gate of the Karzai airport in Kabul, killing 13 US servicemembers and 170 Afghan civilians. A report released in 2024 reaffirmed the DoD initial investigation that had no accountability for senior officers in charge and concluded that the attack could not be prevented at the tactical level. Then MG Donahue was sent with a task force of the 82nd Airborne Division to command ground troops during the embarrassing evacuation. On 25 AUG Marine BG Farrell Sullivan wanted to close the Abbey Gate as the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. MG Donahue decided to keep the gate open. The next day the attack occurred.4 The collapse of Afghanistan’s military began months before. The choice to make Kabul the final stand of the evacuation was flawed and was obviously not MG Donahue’s fault. However, he agreed and obeyed the order to finish the evacuation from the site. He was the ground force commander. In the military the commander is responsible for what happens. This maxim seems to apply these days to non-general officer commanders but not to generals. Accordingly, he was given a pass.

2021 KABUL – AFTER ABBEY GATE – SHAMEFUL DRONE STRIKE – NO ACCOUNTABILITY

Several days after the Abbey Gate suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 13 US servicemembers and many Afghans, the US targeted a vehicle with a drone claiming it was a terrorist preparing another strike on the US perimeter in Kabul. Instead, the blast killed an innocent non-profit aid worker desperately trying to get visas for his family to escape the Taliban violence. Not surprisingly, four months later, the Pentagon investigated its own people and found no blame. The report used the words “tragic mistake” and “execution errors.” GEN Donahue, the commander on the ground in Kabul responsible for events there was not held responsible for any of the blunders in the catastrophe. Ironically, SECDEF Austin stated “leaders in this department should be held to account for high standards of conduct and leadership.” Donahue was given a pass, perhaps to reward him for ‘loyalty’ to the ‘good old boy’ general officer network. The strike publicly showed incompetence in military planning and leadership and made the US a hypocrite in its criticism of collateral damage by other nations in other conflicts.

Steven Kwon, the leader of the peaceful organization whose employee was killed by the errant drone strike, was more blunt and candid. ““This decision is shocking. How can our military wrongly take the lives of 10 precious Afghan people, and hold no one accountable in any way? I’ve been beseeching the US government to evacuate directly-impacted family members and NEI employees for months because their security situation is so dire,” he said in a statement. “When the Pentagon absolves itself of accountability, it sends a dangerous and misleading message that its actions were somehow justified, increasing security risks and making evacuation even more urgent.”5

FOREVER CHEAPED THE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION

In past wars, units earned Presidential Unit Citations for heroic deeds involving untold personal sacrifice, heroism, and valor. Normandy. Bastogne. Guadalcanal. Okinawa. Battle of the Bulge. Chosin Reservoir. Khe Sanh. The list is lengthy of past exploits by American military units worthy of the prestigious unit award.

In 2023, DoD announced the Presidential Unit Citation for the US Army and Marine units in Kabul during the August 2021 evacuation. “The bravery of the Soldiers on the ground and the dedication of those who supported every evacuation flight exemplify the ideals of service with honor and compassion,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said on Thursday. “Until the last aircraft departed, the 82nd Airborne Division and members of JTF-82 [Joint Task Force-82] held the line and provided the safe passage needed to evacuate over 100,000 U.S. citizens, Afghan civilians, and family members. It is a privilege to recognize these Soldiers for their actions during the tumultuous days of August 2021 and to honor their courage at a time when the entire Nation relied on them to complete their mission – which they did with great distinction.”6

Recall that the Afghan government surrendered Kabul to the Taliban to end fighting in the capitol city BEFORE Donahue arrived with his task force of 82nd paratroopers. There was not only a truce but coordination between US forces, including Donahue and the Taliban leaders. This was NOT a fighting withdrawal. The Abbey Gate bombing was not perpetrated by the Taliban; in fact the Taliban condemned it. “Donahue, one of the last things he did before leaving, was talk to the Taliban commander he’d been coordinating with…about the time we were gonna leave just to let them know that we were leaving,” McKenzie (then CENTCOM commander) said. The task force commanded by Donahue received the PUC. There is no public evidence Donahue opposed the award. The approval authority is the President, but he could have protested. He had a great opportunity to try to disavow himself from the award, to argue against its approval, to push to rescind it, but he did not. Troops there were checking IDs of Afghans and doing other humanitarian functions until the Afghans were flown away. Only a few were involved in the bombing but a single terror attack does not justify a PUC. So, now it seems the award is to be given not for valor under fire but for passing out MRE’s during a truce. This action disgraces all of the units that rightfully received it in the past. Donahue once again had the opportunity to take the moral high ground but he chose not to. Hence his promotion for obedience.

FACE OF ABANDONING COALITION PARTNERS – AFGHANS FALLING TO THEIR DEATHS FROM THE WHEELS OF USAF CARGO PLANES

On the night of 31 AUG 2024, MG Donahue was photographed using night vision cameras boarding a transport aircraft and the military stated he was the last US soldier to leave Afghanistan. The picture is easily found in google searches. Far from being a hero, this photograph equals the photograph of Afghans clinging to C-17 wheels as the aircraft took off, leaving them to fall to their deaths. An educated man, this travesty could not likely be lost on Donahue. As in Vietnam, the US abandoned its military partners to their fate to be arrested, imprisoned, abused, and/or killed. The modern military has a habit of just “cutting and running” when times get tough. Potential partners of the US military should take heed. Our leaders have no issue leaving messes for other militaries to suffer through. Donahue did not invade Afghanistan and he did not order the final withdrawal. However, he allowed himself to be in the position to be forever enshrined as the general who obediently did the United States’ ‘dirty work’ before all the world. This is not heroism. This lies somewhere between selfishness and cowardice. Coalition partners in Europe and Africa should be very afraid of GEN Donahue and what he represents. Should they trust the US in a future war? Based on Donahue and Kabul 2021, the answer is a resoundingly NO.

Donahue’s rise is not entirely his fault. He is a product of the faulty paradigm that has created general officers capable of such incompetence and ethical malfeasance. The problem is that the next rising generation has likely been observing the shameful behavior of those before them and see the obvious pathway to shiny stars and post career riches in the military industrial complex. Choosing the harder right over the easier wrong is not conducive to being promoted as a general in the modern US military. Self-serving behavior and suppression of dissent is the watchword of the day for today’s generals.

Likely, the only way to bring change is to make examples of officers that have failed America and the military. They have strayed so far from the concept of Duty, Honor, Country, that they have tarnished the legacy of the stars that they wear. Long gone are the days when Eisenhower prepared a letter in the days before D-Day that clearly and solely placed all blame at his feet if the operation had failed. GEN Donahue should have refused the Kabul mission and become a voice of dissent in the disaster as it unfolded. He could have escaped with his pension, his benefits, and most importantly, his HONOR.

On December 10, 2024 Donahue assumed command of US Army Europe and Africa. At the ceremony he stated: “We have to take advantage of this. We have to exploit it,” Donahue said. “We have to out-think, innovate, adapt, and work any potential adversary to make sure we have true deterrence and, if required, fight and win, as decisively and quickly as possible.”7

Too bad he doesn’t believe his own words. His actions betrayed them.

 General Donahue should be fired from his job and made to retire.

  1. https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/02/politics/chris-donahue-general-promoted-afghanistan-withdrawal/index.html
  2. https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2024-12-10/army-europe-commander-donahue-16120968.html
  3. https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-reporter-in-kabul-blisters-biden-if-this-isnt-failure-what-does-failure-look-like
  4. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/us-troops-kabul-evacuation-presidential-unit-citation/
  5. https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/politics/no-troops-punished-kabul-strike/index.html
  6. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-marine-corps-presidential-unit-citation-afghanistan-evacuation/
  7. https://www.army.mil/article/281907/donahue_assumes_command_of_us_army_europe_and_africa