Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Sociala.
"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," Trump wrote about Brown.
Brown, 63, was in the top job for 16 months. He represented the Air Force from 2020 to 2023.
Trump said he is nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine to be the next chairman.
"General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a 'warfighter' with significant interagency and special operations experience," he wrote.
"Despite being highly qualified and respected to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the previous administration, General Caine was passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden," Trump added. "But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military."
Trump also said he had directed Hegseth "to solicit nominations for five additional high-level positions, which will be announced soon."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force James Slife were also being fired. In 2023, Franchetti became the first woman to lead the Navy.
Hergseth they "have had distinguished careers. We thank them for their service and dedication to our country."
In January, the administration removed former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan within hours of Trump taking office.
Joint Chiefs of Staff members advise the president, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters.
Pentagon reductions
The Department of Defense said it anticipates ultimately firing 5% to 8% -- or 47,000 to 76,000 people -- of the military's approximately 950,000 civilian employees. About 5,400 probationary workers who don't have "mission-critical" roles are expected to be terminated next week.
"As the Secretary made clear, it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical," Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Darin Selnick said in a statement. "Taxpayers deserve to have us take a thorough look at our workforce top-to-bottom to see where we can eliminate redundancies."
Hegseth had asked his top aides to decide to cut the budget 8% over each of the next five years.
Trump announces replacement of top US military officer
Washington (AFP) Feb 22, 2025 -
President Donald Trump announced Friday he is replacing top US military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Trump thanked Brown for "his over 40 years of service to our country" in a post on his Truth Social platform that said he is "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," Trump wrote.
An US Air Force biography of Caine said he served in positions including associate director for military affairs at the CIA, as well as in various operational and staff roles, including more than 150 hours in combat as an F-16 pilot, an aircraft in which he has logged more than 2,800 hours.
Brown was the second Black officer to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- after Colin Powell from 1989 to 1993.
He was commissioned as an officer in 1984 and is an experienced pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours, 130 of them in combat.
Brown has commanded a fighter squadron and two fighter wings, as well as US air forces under the Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command. He had served as Joint Chiefs chairman since October 2023.
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