Head of US Space Force base in Greenland fired after Vance visit
A US official confirmed to the AP that Colonel Susan Meyers had sent an email showing support for Greenland and Denmark.
The commander of a US Space Force base in Greenland has been fired after she sent a base-wide email breaking with official messaging following vice president JD Vance’s visit to the Danish territory that President Donald Trump is seeking to annex.
In a statement late on Thursday, the Space Force said Colonel Susan Meyers was removed as commander of Pituffik Space Base in Greenland over a “loss of confidence in her ability to lead”.
“Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” the statement said.
Military.com reported on Thursday that Colonel Meyers sent the base-wide email defending the base’s relationship with Denmark and Greenland following Mr Vance’s visit two weeks ago.
A US official confirmed on Friday to the AP that Colonel Meyers sent the email and its contents showing support for Greenland and Denmark.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide additional details not made public.
Greenland is a territory of Denmark, which is a Nato ally of the United States.
Mr Trump wants to annex the territory, claiming it is needed for national security purposes, and Mr Vance’s visit in late March set off heated rhetoric between the US and Denmark, with Mr Trump refusing to take the use of military force off the table.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, late Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell linked to the Military.com story and said that “actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defence”.
Colonel Meyers’ firing was the latest in a series of terminations of senior military leaders, including several female leaders.
The Trump administration has previously fired Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan and US Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the only woman on Nato’s military committee.
Other key firings were General CQ Brown Jnr, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Tim Haugh, commander of US Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.
