--- title: "Navy admiral fired from position as senior NATO planner" description: "Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, a career helicopter pilot, had been the U.S.'s top military representative to the NATO Military Committee." date: "2025-04-07" modified: "2025-04-07" authors: - name: "Matt White" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/matt-white/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-admiral-fired-nato/" categories: - "Military Branches" - "Navy" - "News" --- # Navy admiral fired from position as senior NATO planner ![chatfield admiral fired]() *Vice Adm. Shoshanna Chatfield was fired as the U.S. military representative to a NATO planning committee. Navy photo.* A senior Navy officer who represented the U.S. in NATO military planning was fired Monday with no clear explanation from the Pentagon on exactly why she was relieved. Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, a career Navy helicopter pilot, had been the U.S. representative to the [NATO Military Committee.]() Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decided to remove Chatfield “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday. “The Defense Department is grateful for her many years of military service,” Parnell said in the statement, which did not address the exact reason why Chatfield was fired. All military branches routinely use the euphemism “loss of confidence” in lieu of providing detailed explanations for an officer or senior enlisted leader's removal from a job. The phrase is often criticized for publicly equating all removals, leaving the same public stamp on leaders relieved for on-the-job issues as those fired for misconduct or other reasons. [Chatfield's relief was first reported by Reuters](). Chatfield graduated from Boston University in 1987 and trained as a Navy helicopter pilot, flying SH-3, CH-46D and MH-60S in her career, according to an online biography. She later commanded Helicopter Combat Support Squadron HC-5 and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron HSC-25. She also commanded a joint provincial reconstruction team in Farah Province, Afghanistan, in 2008. Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, and Bronze Star Medal. ## String of firings Chatfield's removal comes amid a string of firings with political overtones of senior military officers and intelligence officials. [Six senior officers were dismissed from intelligence positions ]()last weekend by President Donald Trump, [including Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh](), the head of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. In February, two members of the joint chiefs of staff — Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti — were both fired without explanation. Though no reason for Chatfield's firing has been released, she was targeted last December by a right-wing political group, the American Accountability Foundation. The organization [wrote a letter to Secretary of State Pete Hegseth]() in December urging him to fire 20 senior military officials, including Chatsworth. The AAF describes its work as "aggressive research and investigations to advance conservative messaging." Chatfield is at least the second senior officer on the AAF list to lose their job in an abrupt, unexplained firing, along with Franchetti. At least one Air Force general on the list has announced his retirement for this July. When the AAF released its list, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the Associated Press that such targeting by partisan groups would have “considerable, wide and deep consequences” inside the military as officers begin to fear for their careers. “You will drive people out,” Hagel said. “It affects morale as widely and deeply as anything — it creates a negative dynamic that will trickle through an organization.” ***UPDATE: 04/08/2024; t**his story was updated with a statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.* ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Here is the training that the Army says is** [**no longer mandatory**]() - [**Navy fires**]() **commander of Colorado-based Information Operations Command** - **Firefighters help paratrooper** [**finish jump**]() **after missing the ground** - **Pregnant pilots and aircrew** [**grounded**]() **for first trimester under new Air Force flying rules** - [**Mold**]() **in privatized housing cost this Navy family their health and reenlistment bonus** ## Author Matt White is a senior editor at Task & Purpose*.* He writes on news, people and events that affect the lives of those in the Army, Air Force and Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. He also helps direct and edit coverage across Task & Purpose’s newsroom. He has written widely on military aviation and mishaps, service members with unique stories, and special operations including [combat search and rescue](). Got a story to tell? You can reach Matt at [matthew.white@taskandpurpose.com]() ### Author social links [Facebook]()