Who is C.Q. Brown, top U.S. general fired by President Donald Trump

C.Q. Brown. File
| Photo Credit: AP

In a major shakeup to the military leadership, U.S. President Donald Trump fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown, the highest-ranking officer in the country.

Taking to social media, Mr. Trump stated, “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.” The U.S President went on to add that apart from Gen. Brown, five other top officers were also being replaced.

Who is C.Q. Brown

Gen. Brown was the second black officer to hold the post and it was U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who had earlier said that Gen. Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military. Two hours before U.S. President posted about his departure, Gen. Brown had been visiting troops at the southern U.S. border on Friday.

U.S. seniormost Military Officer C.Q. Brown hit the headlines in the year 2020 when he spoke about race following the death of George Floyd. While he knew it was risky, he said, discussions with his wife and sons about the killing convinced him he needed to say something. Gen. Brown also posted the video message to the U.S. Air Force and described the pressures he had felt as one of the few black men in his unit, including being questioned about his credentials.

Prior to leading the Air Force, Mr. Brown had served as the top air power leader in the Indo-Pacific. He had repeatedly warned that U.S. warplanes had to change the way they would fight, by moving them from large, vulnerable bases and shifting to a format where drone swarms and small dispersed units would be able to independently counter threats from the thousands of islands throughout the Pacific.

C.Q. Brown’s departure is expected to send shockwaves through the Pentagon. Gen Brown had served as chairman for 16 months, overseeing critical military operations, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Meanwhile, following the removal, Mr. Trump announced that he would nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Following Gen. Brown’s removal, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged Brown’s contributions in his statement, saying, “He served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service,” adding that Brown was a “thoughtful adviser.”