In a major upheaval of the US military, President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a decision that is being observed as a move to sideline a decorated officer as part of a campaign led by Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks, Associated Press reported.
The development was followed by Hegseth firing the Chief of the US Navy and the vice chief of the US Air Force, according to multiple foreign media reports.
Notably, Brown will be replaced with Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine.
The move assumes significance as Caine is retired and is not a four-star general, CNN said, citing an Air Force official.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump thanked General 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.”
“Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience”, he continued in the same post.
Trump further recalled how during his first term as the US President, Razin was “instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate.”
“It was done in record-setting time, a matter of weeks”, the president stressed, adding, “Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered”.
Furthermore, Trump also accused the Biden administration of passing over General Caine for promotion, despite him being “highly qualified and respected to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff”.
Asserting that alongside Secretary Hegseth and General Caine, the US military “will restore peace through strength, and put America First”, Trump also directed Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high-level positions, which will be announced soon.
Soon after, Hegseth released a statement announcing the firing of Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of the Navy. He also mentioned that General James Slife, the vice chief of the Air Force, had been fired and that he was “requesting nominations” for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy and Air Force, indicating they will also be replaced, CNN reported.
“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars,” Hegseth reportedly said.
Notably, the federal law requires the president to pick the top military officers from the combatant commands or the chiefs of the military services, all of which are 4-star positions. But the law also allows the President to waive the requirement if “such action is necessary in the national interest,” the CNN report further stated.
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