Washington, 11 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Two weeks after US Vice President JD Vance's visit to the US military base in Greenland, the base commander has lost her job.

Colonel Susannah Meyers has been relieved of her command at Pituffik Space Base because confidence in her leadership abilities has been lost, the US Space Operations Command said in a statement issued on Thursday evening.

The statement said that commanders "are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties." The command has now been taken over by Colonel Shawn Lee.

For months US President Donald Trump has expressed an interest in taking control of Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, either through a financial transaction or even military force.

To underscore these ambitions Vance travelled to the Pituffik base in the remote north of the world's largest island at the end of March.

During his visit he expressed sharp criticism of NATO ally Denmark in front of the US service personnel stationed there.

The Greenland dispute appears to be the reason for Meyers' dismissal.

"Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump's agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on the online platform X.

He linked to a report on the Military.com website stating that Meyers had distanced herself from Vance's criticism of Denmark and its supervision of Greenland in an email to the base's staff.

She had apparently tried to create unity amongst the US personnel and the Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders who work there, the portal reported.

Trump says the US needs Greenland for national security purposes, often singling out the island's untapped mineral resources. He has also cast the acquisition as part of a scramble for the Arctic by powers such as China.

Photo: MIA archive