US removes commander in Greenland following Vance鈥檚 controversial visit
The U.S. announced it removed the commander of the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Thursday because of a 鈥渓oss of confidence in her ability to lead,鈥� after Vice President JD Vance鈥檚 controversial visit to the semiautonomous island last month.
鈥淎ctions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Donald Trump鈥檚 agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense,鈥� Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announcing the removal of Susannah Meyers.
Following Vance鈥檚 visit to the island in late March, Military.com reported that Meyers sent out an email to the space base pushing back on the vice president鈥檚 actions and comments during the trip. Parnell included a link to the Military.com story in his X post.
The news site reported the ousted commander wrote in an email, 鈥淚 do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.鈥�
Colonel Shawn Lee took over Meyers鈥� position, according to a from the Space Operations Command.
The removal highlights continued moves for United States control over Greenland as President Donald Trump has vowed to acquire the land 鈥渙ne way or another,鈥� and Vance has repeatedly claimed the island is vulnerable and that the U.S. had 鈥渘o other option鈥� than to ramp up its presence there.
Video below: Trump reiterates belief that Greenland should belong to the US
Vance, alongside his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, visited the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk last month. Usha Vance was originally planning to attend a dogsled race on the island, but expected protests and silent demonstrations altered her visit.
During his trip, the vice president made a high-profile case for American control of Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. He said Greenland would be better off 鈥渃oming under the United States鈥� security umbrella than you have been under Denmark鈥檚 security umbrella.鈥�
Trump has also been vocal about his goal to acquire Greenland and has said he 鈥渨on鈥檛 take anything off the table鈥� to obtain the island, including military force, but that there is a 鈥済ood possibility鈥� it won鈥檛 be needed. He also has confirmed he has 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� engaged in serious discussions about the potential annexation of Greenland.