US Army’s lieutenant general Telita Crosland, the head of the military’s health agency, retired on Friday, making her the latest senior officer to leave under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The retirement comes a week after Trump dismissed six senior military officials, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the US Navy’s first female leader.
Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, confirmed Crosland’s retirement. “I want to thank Crosland for her dedication to the nation, to the military health system, and to Army medicine for the past 32 years,” he said in a statement.
However, Crosland was told she had to retire. The officials said no reason was given for the decision, two former officials were quoted as saying by the news agency Reuters.
Crosland, who was the first Black woman to lead the Defense Health Agency (DHA), graduated from West Point and joined the US Army as a Medical Corps officer in 1993. She previously served as the Army’s deputy surgeon general, according to her Defense fepartment biography.
The Pentagon, under defense secretary Pete Hegseth, has been moving to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Hegseth has argued that these initiatives harm unit cohesion.
“The single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,'” Hegseth said earlier this month during a Pentagon town hall. “From our perspective, why do you get rid of something like DEI? Because from our perspective, it’s served a purpose of dividing the force, as opposed to uniting the force.”
Trump’s defense officials have also ordered an end to identity month celebrations such as Black History Month and Women’s History Month. They have directed the Pentagon to remove all DEI-related content from its platforms.
The administration is also moving forward with a policy to remove all transgender service members from the military.