Command Sergeant Major Veronica E. Knapp Released from Command in D.C.

Photo byUS Army

Command Sergeant Major Veronica E. Knapp was the command sergeant major of the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington (JTF-NCR/MDW) per her official biography. However effective Tuesday she was released from command.

A native of Wooster, Ohio, Command Sgt. Maj. Knapp enlisted in the United States Army on March 28, 2000, as an Internment and Resettlement Military Police Soldier. She attended Military Police One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Command Sgt. Maj. Knapp's previous assignments include Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Bliss, Texas; Camp Humphreys, Korea and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She has deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan; served two consecutive tours in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of OEF; and recently redeployed from MKAB Romania. Command Sgt. Maj. Knapp has served in every leadership position from Team Leader to Command Sergeant Major. Special duty positions include Senior Drill Sergeant; First Sergeant, 189th Military Police Company, Guantanamo Bay; Facility Sergeant Major, United States Army Regional Correctional Facility-Korea (USARCF-K); 40th Military Police Battalion (Detention) Command Sergeant Major, 16th Military Police Brigade Command Sergeant Major, and 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) Command Sergeant Major.

This senior enlisted leader in charge of the Army branch that oversees operations across greater Washington, D.C., was fired late last week, the service confirmed to Military.com on Tuesday.

Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp was relieved from her post Aug. 8 following an administrative investigation, Bernhard Lashleyleidner, a spokesperson for the Military District of Washington, said in an email. She was dismissed "due to a loss of trust and confidence in her leadership," Lashleyleidner said, using the military's catchall term for why a leader may be unfit to hold a position of authority.

Prior to her arrival in Washington, she became the first woman to serve as the senior enlisted adviser of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in 2021.

Knapp joined the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region/Army Military District of Washington in June 2023, becoming the highest-ranking enlisted voice in supplying Army forces for U.S. Northern Command's homeland defense mission in the Washington region. She managed a swath of missions, ranging from the U.S. Army Band to the president's official ceremonial escort unit and logistical support for the first family's ground travel.

She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Commendation and Achievement medals.