The U.S. military announced on Thursday that it had removed the commander of its Pituffik base in Greenland, adding that it would not tolerate any actions that go against President Trump’s agenda.
The decision to remove Col. Susannah Meyers was announced in a statement by the U.S. Space Force that was posted on social media by Sean Parnell, the chief spokesman for the Pentagon.
While the statement didn’t cite a specific reason for her removal, Mr. Parnell said that “actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated.”
Mr. Parnell’s post contained a link to an article by Military.com, an independent news organization, that said Colonel Meyers had sent an email to base staff distancing herself from Vice President JD Vance’s visit on March 28.
Mr. Vance visited the base as part of Mr. Trump’s push to take over Greenland, an island that is a semiautonomous part of Denmark, for national security reasons.
“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 Space Force said in the statement.
Mr. Vance criticized Denmark during his remarks to the staff at Pituffik, accusing the country of not spending enough to keep the area safe. “This is not how you speak to your close allies,” Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, responded.
On March 31, Colonel Meyers emailed the staff at Pituffik saying that the concerns of the Trump administration as expressed by Mr. Vance did not reflect the views of the base leadership, according to excerpts published by Military.com.
The Space Force confirmed that those excerpts were from an email Colonel Meyers sent to the entire base on March 31.
In addition to U.S. military personnel, civilian contractors from Greenland, Denmark and Canada also live and work at Pituffik (pronounced bee-doo-FEEK).
Colonel Meyers became the commander of the 821st Space Base Group, which runs Pituffik, last July.