US Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, one of the highest-ranking Black female officers in the Army and head of the military’s health agency, was forced to retire on Friday, according to two sources who spoke to Reuters.

Her departure follows a sweeping shake-up in the military leadership. While Crosland’s retirement was publicly announced, Reuters is the first to report that she was compelled to step down after 32 years of service.

Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, acknowledged Crosland’s retirement in a statement on Friday. “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.

However, a current and a former official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she was instructed to retire without being given a reason. The Pentagon declined to comment on the circumstances of her departure, referring inquiries to the Defense Health Agency, which did not immediately respond.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has moved swiftly to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Pentagon, arguing that such programs create division. Earlier this month, he dismissed the phrase “diversity is our strength” as the “single dumbest phrase in military history.”

Hegseth ends identity month celebrations, sparking debate over DEI programs

Hegseth has also put an end to identity month commemorations, including Black History Month and Women’s History Month. Supporters of DEI programs argue that they are essential to addressing historical inequities, while critics, particularly within conservative circles, view them as politically driven.

Despite being a trailblazer in the Army, Crosland previously downplayed the role of race and gender in her career. “I don’t actually frame anything I do day-in and day-out in the terms of my race or my gender. That’s always been a hard question for me to answer,” she said in an article published on the military health agency’s website last year.

She acknowledged the challenges that come with being a Black woman in the military but emphasized a broader perspective on leadership.

“It’s not because I don’t understand the responsibility … certainly, there are challenges that come from being a woman in the military, there are challenges that come from being African American, and being in the military,” she stressed.

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 Trump dismisses top US military officer amid rampant shake-ups

A week ago, US President Donald Trump dismissed General Charles "CQ" Brown, the top US military officer, marking a major shake-up in the leadership of the armed forces.

Trump did not provide a reason for Brown's removal, which came less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This follows a series of federal worker layoffs and efforts to dismantle government institutions early in Trump's second term.

Brown, nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, was the second Black person to hold the position.

In response to Brown’s dismissal, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that he was searching for a replacement for Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the US Navy.

Trump thanked Brown for his “over 40 years of service to our country” in a post on his Truth Social platform, calling him “a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader.” Brown had extensive military experience, including commanding a fighter squadron and two fighter wings and leading US air forces in Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command. He had served as Joint Chiefs chairman since October 2023.

Brown had made personal remarks about discrimination in the military, particularly after the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Reflecting on his own career, Brown said, “I’m thinking about the pressure I felt to perform error-free, especially for supervisors I perceive had expected less from me as an African American.”

Hegseth had previously advocated for Brown’s removal during a November podcast, criticizing top officers involved in “any of the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) woke shit,” although he later stated he was "looking forward to working" with him.

Trump announced the nomination of Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine to replace Brown. The US president described Caine as “an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a 'warfighter' with significant interagency and special operations experience.”

Caine, who had served as associate director for military affairs at the CIA, logged over 2,800 hours as an F-16 pilot, including more than 150 combat hours.

Trump, in his usual dramatic style, shared a story from a Saudi investor forum in Miami about meeting Caine in Iraq, where Caine was among a group of “handsome people, everybody's like from a movie set.” The US president recalled that Caine’s nickname was “Razin,” to which he responded, “I’ve been looking for you for five years ... this is what I want.”

In a further shake-up, Hegseth revealed that he was seeking replacements for Franchetti and General James Slife, who served as vice chief of staff for the Air Force. He thanked both for their “distinguished careers” but did not provide reasons for their departures.

Franchetti, who had made history as the first woman to serve as chief of naval operations, had a career in naval leadership, including commanding a destroyer squadron, two carrier strike groups, and serving as deputy commander for US naval forces in Europe and Africa.

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