Following the commander’s decision to separate herself from Vice President JD Vance—who had just visited the Pentagon—the Pentagon terminated her employment at the U.S. Space Force facility in Greenland.
On March 31, following the vice president’s visit, Col. Susannah Meyers sent an email to the base staff, stating, “I 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.”
She pointed out that she “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.” It was Military.com that broke the news of the email.
In a public announcement, the Space Force explained that Meyers’s dismissal from leadership was “due to loss of confidence in her ability to lead.”
“Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” according to the document.
The leadership has been passed on to Col. Shawn Lee, according to Space Force.
Defense Department spokeswoman Sean Parnell stated on X that the department will not tolerate actions that disrupt the chain of command or President Trump’s objectives.
A Facebook post documenting the ceremony of command transition states that Meyers assumed command of the 821st Space Base Group in July.
Republican Sens. Members of the Alabama delegation, Missouri’s Eric Schmitt, and Indiana’s Jim Banks all spoke highly of the commander’s dismissal on X.
“Colonel Meyers was judged responsible for his attempt to politicize the Space Force. According to Banks, Lloyd Austin is no longer SecDef.
During his time on the snow-covered island, Vance spoke out against Denmark’s treatment of Greenlanders, calling them “second-class citizens.”
“Our message to Denmark is very simple,” Vance stated. The Greenlandic people do not think you have done a good job. Both the Greenlandic people and the safety of this breathtakingly gorgeous continent have been grossly underfunded by you.
And the vice president went on to say that Denmark was to blame for Greenland’s vulnerability to Russian and Chinese aggression.
According to the White House, Vance was the first high-ranking official to ever visit the Pituffik base.
Acquiring Greenland is one of the major priorities for the Trump administration.
“We need Greenland for national security and international security,” President Trump stated on March 11.
He went on to say, “So, we’ll, I think, we’ll go as far as we have to go,” speaking from the Oval Office. We must have Greenland. Greenland, together with Denmark, is an essential part of our global community. Greenland must be ceded to us by Denmark. Additionally, we will observe the outcome. We cannot have excellent global security without Greenland.
“I view it from a security standpoint, we have to be there,” he said.