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#Trump fired the country’s senior #military officer on Fri after weeks of turmoil at the #Pentagon, injecting #politics into selecting the nation’s top military leader.

Gen Charles Q. Brown Jr, a four-star fighter pilot known as C.Q. who became only the second African American to hold the chairman’s job, is to be replaced by a retired three-star Air Force general, John D. Caine, who endeared himself to the president when they met in Iraq 6 yrs ago.

#JointChiefs chairmen traditionally remain in place as admins change, regardless of the president’s political party. But #Trump White House & #Pentagon officials said they wanted to appoint their own top leaders.

…#Defense Secy #PeteHegseth [drunk rapist] has previously said that General Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on #diversity, #equity & #inclusion programs in the #military.

“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” #PeteHegseth said in a [TV] appearance…in Nov. He added that any general involved with #DEI efforts should be fired. “Either you’re in for warfighting, & that’s it,” he said. “That’s the only litmus test we care about.”

On Hegseth’s first day at the #Pentagon, however, he stood next to General Brown, who became chairman in Oct 2023, & said he looked forward to working w/him.

But it soon became clear that Gen Brown had not been welcomed into #Trump’s inner circle. He was not invited to key meetings w/the president, ofcls said.

It was a significant reversal for Trump from 2020, when Gen Brown was nominated to be the USAF’s chief of staff. At the time, Trump noted the historic significance of his decision to appoint the “first-ever African American military service chief,” posting that the general was “a Patriot & Great Leader.”

In #Trump’s telling, Dan Caine, the retired AirForce Lt Gen whom he wants to be his next #JointChiefs of Staff chair, made an impression on him when the 2 first met in 2018.

The general told Trump that the Islamic State was not so tough & could be defeated in 1 week, not 2 years as senior advisers predicted…

And at a CPAC meeting last year, Trump said that Gen Caine put on a MAGA hat while meeting w/him in Iraq. (Gen Caine has told aides he has never put on a MAGA hat)

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/dan-caine-trump-joint-chiefs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Gen Caine is a 1990 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, where he received a degree in economics. He later got a master’s in air warfare at the American Military University.

An F-16 pilot with 150 combat flight hours, Gen Caine’s career took him on an unusual path for a future Air Force general.

He was a White House fellow at the Agriculture Dept & a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council under Pres George W. Bush.

He served in several highly secretive #intelligence & special ops assignments, some in the US & some overseas.

Acc/to his military biography, Gen Caine was a part-time member of the Air National Guard from 2009 to 2016 & “a serial entrepreneur & investor.”

He was also an assoc director for #military affairs at the #CIA from 2021 to 2024, serving as the principal liaison to the #Pentagon & working w/the military on several highly classified programs & operations….

In all, 6 #Pentagon officials were fired. In addition to #JointChiefs chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., #Trump also fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first #woman to lead the #Navy; Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the #AirForce; & the top #lawyers for the #Army, Navy & #AirForce.

#USpol #law #military #NationalSecurity #MilitaryPreparedness
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/trump-fires-cq-brown-pentagon.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Gen Caine retired w/ 3 stars, as a lieutenant general. By #statute, the chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff is supposed to have served as a combatant Commander, as the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or as the top uniformed officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Space Force.
It’s unclear if Gen Caine will need a congressional waiver; a congressional aide said #Trump had some latitude to choose whom he wanted & exceptions could be made for #NationalSecurity.
#USpol #law #military

Because Gen Caine is retired, he will have to be called back to active duty for the #Senate to hold hearings on his nomination. Only one retired officer has been called back from retirement to serve as chair: Gen Maxwell Taylor in 1962 by JFK.

It’s unclear if Gen Brown will remain chair until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, or whether Adm. Christopher W. Grady, the vice chair, would serve as the acting #JointChiefs chair.

#Trump has now fired 4 four-star officers in the past month.

Adm. #LisaFranchetti spent roughly half of her 40-year career at sea, rising to command the destroyer U.S.S. Ross, & later a destroyer squadron, two aircraft carrier strike groups, all naval forces in Korea & the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

Admiral Franchetti became the 33rd chief of naval operations on Nov. 2, 2023, making her the first #woman to have a permanent seat as a member of the #JointChiefs.

#USpol #law #Navy #NationalSecurity #MilitaryPreparedness
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/hegseth-navy-lisa-franchetti.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Adm #LisaFranchetti received her commission in 1985 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Northwestern University, just 7yrs after the #Navy ended its prohibition on #women serving on ships at sea.

She became a surface warfare officer at a time when women joining the fleet in that role were typically limited to serving on auxiliary ships — noncombat vessels that carry cargo, fuel, ammunition or specialized equipment to repair submarines.

The prohibition against #women serving on warships ended in 1993, opening the door for officers like Adm #LisaFranchetti to compete equally with their male counterparts. Women were not allowed on submarines, however, until 2010.

The firing of a service chief such as Admiral Franchetti is vanishingly rare, though #Trump fired another four-star female admiral less than 24 hrs after his second inauguration.

During his 2nd admin, #Trump has shown personal animus toward high-ranking #military officers [particularly if they are not white and/or are women], both those on active duty & some who retired years ago.

Trump has suggested that Gen #MarkMilley, his fmr chair of the #JointChiefs who retired in 2023, should be executed for engaging w/his Chinese counterpart during the turmoil surrounding the #Jan6 #insurrection.

@Sobex @Nonilex that probably depends on if they go quietly or contest their firing

But even if the former I wouldn’t be surprised if Mumps do not keep their words

@Wileymiller

Hegseth straight up said she was a DEI hire.
from heather cox richardson....

He has fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Q. Brown, who Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested got the job only because he is Black, and Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Chief of Naval Operations, who was the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and whom Hegseth called a “DEI hire.”

@Nonilex

@solownh

That is one of the primary functions of the POTUS.
Commander and Chief.
The question is, will he abuse the military as he has everything else in his wake?

@Nonilex

@RememberUsAlways @Nonilex No doubt

@joeinwynnewood

I think we have a pattern and history to guide us to a rational answer.

@solownh @Nonilex