President Donald Trump has dismissed General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, marking a significant reshuffle of top military leadership.
Brown, who served for over 40 years and was the second Black officer in history to hold the prestigious role, was replaced alongside five other senior officers.
In a statement on social media, Trump expressed gratitude to Gen Brown for his service and noted that five additional officers were also being replaced.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had previously criticised Gen Brown for his “woke” focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes in the military, also announced the firings of Chief of Naval Operations Adm Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Jim Slife.
Adm Franchetti was the first woman to lead the US Navy, while all three officers removed on Friday had been appointed by former President Joe Biden.
Hegseth justified the decision, stating: “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.”
Trump also announced he would nominate Air Force Lt Gen Dan Caine—a career F-16 pilot who most recently served as CIA associate director for military affairs—as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The decision came as Gen Brown was visiting troops at the US southern border, just two hours before Trump announced his removal. Speculation about his dismissal had been circulating for days, despite his term being set to expire in 2027.
Gen Brown gained national attention in 2020 when he spoke about race following the death of George Floyd. In a video message to the Air Force, he described the challenges he faced as one of the few Black men in his unit and the scrutiny of his credentials.
In 2022, while serving as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen Brown co-signed a memo outlining diversity goals to increase the proportion of minority officer applicants while adjusting lower the rate of white candidates, according to the Air Force Times.
His dismissal follows Trump’s previous decision to fire the first female Commandant of the Coast Guard, citing her “excessive focus” on diversity.
In November, before his confirmation, Hegseth had already signalled that military leadership changes were imminent. Speaking on a podcast, he outlined steps the Trump administration should take to “course correct.”
“First of all, you got to fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth had said.
Beyond leadership changes, the Pentagon also announced on Friday that it would cut its budget and let go of 5,400 probationary employees next week.
Meanwhile, a federal court temporarily blocked Trump’s efforts to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes, ruling the directives may violate free speech rights.
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