The head of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), the health system for millions of service members and their dependents, was forced to abruptly retire Friday, Reuters reported.
Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, one of the most senior Black female officers in the Army who has served in her role since January 2023, “is beginning her retirement” as of Friday morning, according to a statement from Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
The statement offered no reasoning for Crosland’s quick departure, but two officials told Reuters that she was informed that she must retire and was not given a reason why.
The move comes exactly a week after President Trump fired six senior military officers, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and the first female head of the Navy.
“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,” Ferrara said in the statement.
Crosland, the first Black woman to lead the Defense Health Agency, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy West Point and entered the Army as a Medical Corps officer in 1993. Prior to her last role, the highly decorated officer served as the Army’s deputy surgeon general, according to her official Defense Department biography.
Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has moved to quickly oust diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, arguing without proof that they wreak havoc on unit cohesion.
“The single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’” Hegseth said earlier this month during a town hall meeting at the Pentagon. “From our perspective, why do you get rid of something like DEI? Because from our perspective, it’s served a purpose of dividing the force, as opposed to uniting the force.”
Trump administration defense officials have also ordered the end of commemorations of identity month celebrations including Black History Month and Women’s History Month, and directed the Pentagon to erase all DEI content from its digital footprint.
That all comes as the military prepares to kick out all transgender service members.
In Crosland’s place, David Smith, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, will serve as the acting director of the DHA while the department works through the nomination process for her replacement.
“Dr. Smith is a steady hand with decades of experience in the Military Health System in and out of uniform. I ask everyone to support Dr. Smith and the entire DHA team as we stabilize and strengthen our system serving the most lethal fighting force on the planet,” Ferrara said.
Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., the DHA employs nearly 130,000 civilians and military personnel to serve 9.5 million service members and military retirees and their families.
