# Chris Donahue (general)

Christopher Todd Donahue (born 13 August 1969) is a United States Army general who has served as the commanding general of United States Army Europe and Africa and commander of Allied Land Command since 10 December 2024. He most recently served as the commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg from 2022 to 2024. He previously served as commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division from 2020 to 2022. Throughout his career, Donahue has served in both staff and command positions for the United States Army. He was currently allied to serve with the peacekeeping deployment force in Syria Special Operations units.

## Education

Donahue graduated from Pennsylvania's Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 1987, and then attended Wyoming Seminary. In 1988 he began attendance at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1992 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Infantry Branch of the United States Army.

## Career

His first assignment was rifle platoon leader with 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army in South Korea, followed by service at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as company executive officer. Donahue then received assignment as rifle company commander in the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 193rd Infantry Brigade in Fort Kobbe, Panama. In 1998 Donahue transferred to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as assistant operations officer, rifle company commander, and headquarters company commander. He was then assigned to Washington, DC as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2002 Donahue volunteered for and completed a specialized selection and operator training course for assignment to the army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, publicly known as Delta Force, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He would serve numerous leadership positions as assistant operations officer, squadron operations officer, squadron executive officer, troop commander, selection and training detachment commander, operations officer, squadron commander, deputy commander and unit commander.
Donahue earned a master's degree from the Naval Command and Staff College, Naval War College and completed an Army War College Fellowship at Harvard University in 2013.
Donahue's deployments include Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Freedom Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve. He planned, rehearsed and operated during classified operations in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa.
Donahue's most recent assignments include: Director of Operations, Joint Special Operations Command; the Commandant, United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning; Deputy commanding General (maneuver) of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson; deputy director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism, J-37 Joint Staff; Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command/Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, Resolute Support Mission, 2019–2020; and the Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division from 2020 to 2021.
In February 2022, he was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps, succeeding Michael Kurilla.
In November 2024, Donahue was nominated for promotion to general and assignment as the commanding general of United States Army Europe-Africa and Allied Land Command. The nomination was placed on hold due to senatorial questions regarding his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021. On 2 December, the hold was lifted, and Donahue was promoted to four-star general.

### 9/11 attacks

On the morning of 11 September 2001, Donahue, who was a captain at that time, was on Capitol Hill accompanying Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, to whom he was an aide. Myers was scheduled to meet Georgia Senator Max Cleland for a courtesy call before his Senate confirmation hearing to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Later-on, Donahue received first-hand intelligence report that a hijacked plane had hit the south tower of the World Trade Center and informed Myers of the hijacking and the current situation. At one point Donahue also lent his cell phone to Myers who used it to call General Ralph Eberhart, the Commander-in-Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, to get further information regarding the situation. Immediately, Donahue and Myers proceeded to The Pentagon. When Myers' Lincoln Town Car had almost arrived at The Pentagon, Donahue informed Myers that he saw smoke arise from The Pentagon and at that point they learned that The Pentagon had also been hit by one of the commercial aircraft that was hijacked that day, later identified to be American Airlines Flight 77. They arrived at The Pentagon a few moments after the plane had hit, and immediately rendezvoused with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. Myers was designated as Acting-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the attack, because Chairman General Hugh Shelton was en route to Europe for an upcoming NATO summit, and Donahue remained with him throughout the day.

## Awards and decorations

U.S. military decorations :
| | Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster |
| | Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters |
| | Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and four oak leaf clusters |
| | Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
| | Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster |
| | Joint Service Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster |
| | Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster |
| | Army Achievement Medal |
| U.S. Unit Awards ||
| | Presidential Unit Citation |
| | Joint Meritorious Unit Award |
| | Meritorious Unit Commendation with four oak leaf clusters |
| U.S. Service (Campaign) Medals and Service and Training Ribbons ||
| | National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
| | Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star |
| | Iraq Campaign Medal with one silver and one bronze service star |
| | Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal with service star |
| | Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |
| | Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
| | Korea Defense Service Medal |
| | Army Service Ribbon |
| | Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4 |
| | NATO Medal for service with ISAF |
Badges :
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Expert Infantryman Badge
* Ranger Tab
* Master Parachutist Badge with XVIII Airborne Corps background trimming
* Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge
* Air Assault Badge
* Egyptian Parachutist Badge
* 82nd Airborne Division Distinctive Unit Insignia
* Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
* United States Army Special Operations Command Combat Service Identification Badge
* 14 Overseas Service Bars