- President Donald Trump announced the firing of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. from his position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thanking him for his over 40 years of service. Brown had served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 16 months.
- Trump named Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as Brown’s replacement. Trump highlighted his experience as a career F-16 pilot and associate director of military affairs for the CIA.
- Brown, who had publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement, faced criticism from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has prioritized removing “wokeism” from the U.S. Armed Forces.
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President Donald Trump announced the firing of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. on Friday, Feb. 21. Brown served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“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,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”
Brown had served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 16 months.
In the same social media post, Trump named Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, who served as the associate director of military affairs for the CIA from 2021 to 2024, as his replacement. He was a career F-16 pilot in the Air Force.
“General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him.”
Hegseth went on to praise Brown for his accomplishments.
“The outgoing Chairman, Gen. Charles ‘CQ’ Brown, Jr., USAF, has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service,” Hegseth said. “I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country.”
Brown, who is Black, had received criticism for his public support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Hegseth has made it a priority to remove “wokeism” from the U.S. Armed Forces.
