US Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, one of the most senior Black female officers in the Army, was forced to retire on Friday. The move comes just a week after President Donald Trump fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has moved quickly to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the Pentagon, arguing that they are divisive. Crosland downplayed her identity as a Black female in the military last year, saying: \”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\” The Pentagon declined to say why Crosland retired and referred Reuters to the Defense Health Agency. The DHA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the retirement. The Pentagon has also ended commemorations of identity month celebrations, like Black History Month and Women’s History Month. The White House has not commented on Crosland’s retirement.
