Chief of US military base in Greenland torpedoed: he had criticised J.D. Vance

The head of the US military base in Greenland, a Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, has been fired for criticising Washington's Arctic island programme. Colonel Susannah Meyers, commander of the Pituffik space base since July, was removed from her post following reports that she had distanced herself from US Vice President J.D. Vance's criticism of Denmark and the territory during his visit to the base a fortnight ago. The US Space Force reported that Colonel Shawn Lee has taken Meyers' place. "Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially with regard to impartiality in the performance of their duties," the US Space Force said in a statement released last night. The statement was not expanded upon further, but the US military.com website claimed that Meyers sent an e-mail on 31 March to all personnel at Pituffik 'apparently aimed at creating unity among airmen and guardsmen, as well as among Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders working there, after Vance's appearance'.

During his visit to the base on 28 March, Vance told a press conference: 'Our message to Denmark is very simple, you have not done a good job with the people of Greenland. You have invested too little in the people of Greenland and too little in the security architecture of this incredible and wonderful landmass'. In his e-mail, forwarded to military.com, Meyers wrote: 'I do not presume to understand current policy, but what I do know is that the US administration's concerns discussed by Vice President Vance are not about the Pituffik space base'. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated on X that "actions aimed at undermining the chain of command or subverting President Trump's agenda will not be tolerated by the Department of Defence".