President Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks.
The ouster of Brown, only the second Black general to serve as chairman, is sure to send shock waves through the Pentagon. His 16 months in the job had been consumed with the war in Ukraine and the expanded conflict in the Middle East.
“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Mr. Trump posted on social media.
Mr. Trump says he is nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next chairman.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced in a statement Friday evening that Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force James Slife were also being fired. Franchetti made history in 2023 when she became the first woman to lead the Navy.
Franchetti was informed in a call from Hegseth that he intended to replace her, a defense official told CBS News. The call occurred before his statement was issued.
Judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force were also being replaced, Hegseth said.
Mr. Trump acted despite support for Brown among key members of Congress and a seemingly friendly meeting with him in mid-December, when the two were seated next to each other for a time at the Army-Navy football game. Brown had been meeting regularly with Hegseth, who took over the top Pentagon job just four weeks ago.
Hegseth said in his statement that Caine “embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him.”
Hegseth said Brown “served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service,” and praised him as a “thoughtful adviser.”
Caine was sworn in as associate director for Military Affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency in November 2021, according to his biography on the Air Force’s website, and his most recent post was as director of special programs for the Defense Department’s Special Access Program Central Office at the Pentagon. As a command pilot, he has logged more than 2,800 hours in an F-16, including more than 150 combat hours.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Virginia Military Institute in 1990.
Caine is a three-star general. Traditionally, four-star generals are nominated to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff.