US Commander in Greenland ousted over alleged email criticising J.D. Vance's Denmark comments

The head of a US military base in Greenland was fired on April 10, following an email she sent reportedly distancing herself from US Vice President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark. 

Colonel Susannah Meyers of the US military's Space Operations Command was stripped of her duties at the Pituffik Space Base due to a “loss of  confidence in her ability to lead”.

This follows Vance's criticising Denmark for doing a poor job in keeping Greenland safe from Russia, China and “other nations”, as per a Reuters report. He suggested that the United States was better off protecting the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump had considered taking over. He added that the US had no immediate plans to expand its military presence on the ground, but would invest in maritime resources, such as additional naval ships.

"Denmark has not kept pace and devoted the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations," Vance said. However, he did not elaborate much on the alleged incursions.

Col. Meyers' alleged email, released by Military.com (an independent military news site), had instructed her staff that Vance's comments were “not reflective” of the base. 

"I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the US administration discussed by Vice-President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base," the alleged email read.

According to the New York Times, this was cited in an X post by Sean Parnell, the chief spokesman for the Pentagon, who criticised her refusal to comply with orders from the US leadership, warning that insubordination would not be tolerated.

Since the US delegation's visit, both Greenland and Denmark have shown a united front, opposing any possible annexations of the autonomous Danish territory. Earlier this month, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's official visit saw her stand side-by-side with her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen and his predecessor, Mute Egede. Despite the unified front, Frederiksen had also added that Denmark was fortifying its military presence in the Arctic, offering possibilities for closer collaboration with the US in defending the region.