The third resignation of a woman in the US Army by Trump's administration. She was the only one in the NATO committee
This information was not immediately confirmed by the Pentagon. However, the sources were reported by Reuters that allies had already been notified of the removal of Chatfield from her position.
Although the plaintiff is unknown, the unofficial AP News information shows that most likely the decision to release was associated with its earlier statements about support for diversity in the army. The informants said that in their opinion, the Secretary of Defense Pete HegeSeth decided about their resignation, but it is not clear whether he received any tips from President Donald Trump.
Third woman officer released by the Trump administration
Chatfield is a third woman who has been released since Trump took office. HegeSeth announced in February that he was releasing the head of sea operations, adm. Lisa Franchetti, and Trump was released by the Commander of the Coast Guard, Adm. Linda Fagan just a day after sworn in.
“An energetic campaign is being conducted to remove leaders who promoted diversity, equality and inclusiveness, as well as to remove Dei programs and online content from uniformed services,” writes AP News.
Chatfield was on the list of higher military officers, whom the conservative American Accountability Foundation considered “awakened”. The Foundation sent a letter to HegeSeth, in which she stated that “the army of the army was necessary”. It indicated that military leaders should focus on developing combat aspects, and not on supporting diversity, equality and integration in the ranks of the army.
After Pete HegeSeth became the secretary of defense, he publicly condemned her speech in 2025 on the occasion of Women's Equality Day as “the stupidest in military history.”
Chatfield, a naval helicopter pilot, which also commanded a joint reconstruction team in Afghanistan, recently served as one of 32 representatives at the NATO Military Committee. This is the main military counseling panel for the North Atlantic Council and NATO nuclear planning group. She served as a connector between political decision -makers and NATO military structure.
She was born in Garden Growve, California, graduated from the Boston University, obtained a master's degree at Harvard University and a doctorate at the University of San Diego. She served in the Pacific and in the Persian Gulf as a pilot. Later, she served as a senior military assistant of the Supreme Allied commander in Europe. She was awarded a brown star.
