The senior enlisted leader in charge of the Army branch that oversees military operations in Washington, D.C. was fired late last week, officials confirmed.
After a 15-6 investigation, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica E. Knapp was removed Thursday as the senior enlisted leader of the military task force responsible for defense and day-to-day military operations in the nation's capitol, Task & Purpose reported Monday.
Knapp was dismissed "due to a loss of trust and confidence in her leadership," according to Bernhard Lashleyleidner, a spokesperson for the Military District of Washington, Military.com reported Tuesday.
The "loss of trust" phrase is the military's catch-all term for why a leader may be unfit to hold a position of authority.
A 15-6 investigation is a probe that can be done in response to allegations involving command climate concerns, poor leadership or misconduct.
Lashleyleidner declined to answer where Knapp was reassigned.
Sergeant Major Eberhard G. Nordman, provost marshal of Joint Task Force-National Capital Region/United States Army Military District of Washington (JTF-NCR/USAMDW), was named as Knapp's acting replacement.
Knapp in 2021 became the first woman named to command the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She served in that position until being assigned to the JTF-NCR/USAMDW in mid-2023.
"With their unparalleled empathy and care for soldiers, Command Sgt. Maj. Knapp spearheaded and implemented several cohesion-bolstering division-wide initiatives with incredible results," Maj. Gen. J.P. McGee, then-commanding officer of the 101st, said at Knapp's change of responsibility ceremony last year, Army Times reported.
"Changing a culture of an organization with 20,000 Soldiers is exceptionally difficult, and she left no stone unturned to make this change a reality and make the lives of soldiers better."
Knapp enlisted in the Army in 2000 and has deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Romania, according to her official biography, which has been taken down from the JTF-NCR/USAMDW website
JTF-NCR/USAMDW was established after the 9/11 attacks as a central hub for defense and day-to-day military operations around the nation's capital.
The task force's leaders, traditionally an Army two-star general as the overall commander and Navy admiral as their deputy, oversee military units from every branch, several installations and civilian defense agencies.
The task force's duties range from ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery to responding to emergencies with military police and technical rescue teams to establishing mobile command posts for major D.C. events or emergencies.