‘Last man out of Afghanistan,’ Gen. Christopher Donahue tapped for fourth star

The 2021 photograph of the then-two-star general boarding the last C-17 out of Kabul came to symbolize the U.S. withdrawal after 20 years of war.
Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Donahue is the final American service member to depart Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Alex Burnett)
Then-Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue boards the final C-17 cargo plane to leave Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 31, 2021. Army photo by Master Sgt. Alex Burnett.

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Army Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, whose picture as the last soldier to board the final C-17 out of Afghanistan became an iconic image of the American withdrawal from the country, was nominated for promotion to the rank of four-star general and to command U.S. Army Europe-Africa, according to a Pentagon list of general officer nominations released Friday.

Donahue must be confirmed by the Senate to assume the rank and position.

Donahue spent most of his field and company-grade officer years in special operations, including several assignments within the Army’s secretive Delta Force. As a general officer, he has spent the last four years in charge of conventional forces at Fort Liberty, first as the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division for two years, and then as the commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps.

He also oversaw the name change of the Army’s largest base from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty, participating in meetings with the local civilian community and Pentagon leaders that produced the new name.

But Donahue’s career will likely be remembered best for the photo taken during his 18th deployment at Kabul’s airport in August 2021 when he was a two-star general in charge of the 82nd Airborne. Taken by Army Master Sgt. Alex Burnett through a night vision device, the photo captures Donahue mounting the ramp of an Air Force C-17 after checking to make sure no Americans were still waiting to board. Donahue’s plane and four other C-17s departed Kabul just minutes before midnight on Aug. 31, 2021, meeting a deadline for U.S. forces to leave the country after nearly 20 years of war.

Donahue’s decision to be the last service member to leave Afghanistan was part of the Army’s officer and leader culture, according to David Cotter, director of the military history department at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

“In a field or combat environment, for example, the commander eats last, after all the soldiers have been fed,” Cotter told Task & Purpose in 2021. “Similarly, the commander’s tank is the last to cross back into friendly areas when executing a rearward passage of lines.”

Donahue’s service history is somewhat shrouded in mystery, with no year-by-year unit assignments from his pre-general officer years listed in his various online biographies. Instead, his biographies describe assignments, training schools and awards that paint a picture of an officer deep within the special operations world. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Donahue commanded a rifle company in the 75th Ranger Regiment, served at the Pentagon as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff then was assigned to the Army’s Special Operations Command. There, his biography says, he served a series of leadership roles including squadron and brigade commander at then-Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He was then named director of operations for the Joint Special Operations Command, which oversees Delta Force and other elite units from across the military.

Donahue is a graduate of Ranger School and Military Freefall School, holds the combat infantryman badge and expert infantryman badge and has personal awards that include five Bronze Stars, two with ‘V’ device for valor in combat duty.

At U.S. Army Europe-Africa, Donahue will oversee a relatively new major command that was consolidated from Africa and Europe-based organizations in 2020. Based in Wiesbaden, Germany, the command oversees Army operations from Arctic-like Scandinavian nations to Africa. The command has 37,000 soldiers, according to an Army fact sheet, who are responsible for operations in 104 countries. The command is involved in extensive training and supply missions around the war in Ukraine.

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