Gen. Charles Q. Brown has assumed the position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is now the top military adviser for President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and the National Security Council.
Brown, 61, served as chief of staff of the Air Force before assuming his new role, for which he made history as the first black service chief in U.S. military history. His assumption of the role held by Gen. Mark Milley, who retired, marks the first time the chairman and secretary are both black.
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“As chairman, every day, I will focus on strengthening the bonds of trust across our force, ensuring the American people know their military and its service members, active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian only, as the unwavering defenders of the Constitution and servants of our nation,” Brown said during Milley’s retirement ceremony on Friday. “When I became chief of staff of the Air Force three years ago, I expressed the need to accelerate change. My conviction has not wavered. The journey of change must continue to strengthen our national security.”
He is a self-described introvert, especially compared to Milley, a boisterous Boston native.
Brown was commissioned in 1984 from the ROTC program at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and during his career, he has commanded a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, Air Forces Central Command, and the Air Force Weapons School, according to his biography. Before becoming the Air Force chief of staff, Brown also served as commander of Pacific Air Forces, which is the air component of Indo-Pacific Command.
Brown made headlines in 2020 when he released a video reacting to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
“I’m thinking about the pressure I felt to perform error-free, especially for supervisors I perceived had expected less of me as an African American. I’m thinking about having to represent by working twice as hard to prove their expectations and perceptions of African Americans were invalid,” he said. “I’m thinking about how I can make improvements personally, professionally, and institutionally so that all Airmen, both today and tomorrow, appreciate the value of diversity and can serve in an environment where they can reach their full potential.”
The incoming chairman was confirmed by the Senate last week, but his nomination was held up by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who has a hold on more than 300 military nominations and promotions due to the department’s policies on abortion. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) brought Brown and two other senior leaders’ promotions to the floor individually, a move Tuberville had been insisting was a workaround to his hold.
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Tuberville was one of only 11 senators to vote against Brown’s confirmation, though he voted to confirm the Army chief of staff and Marine Corps commandant. He cited Brown’s support for “woke policies” and his comments on “race and things that he wanted to mix into the military” as his reason for not supporting Brown’s nomination.
“I heard some things he talked about, about race and things that he wanted to mix into the military. Our military is not an equal-opportunity employer. We’re looking for the best of the best to do whatever. We’re not looking for different groups, social justice groups. We don’t want to single-handedly destroy our military from within,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power on Tuesday, though the U.S. military has an equal opportunity policy that went into effect in 1948.
