[News Figures] 'Charles Brown' Nominated as US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

'Charles Brown' is a 61-year-old Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He did not graduate from the Air Force Academy but completed the ROTC program at Texas A&M University and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1984. He served as an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, the main fighter jet of the U.S. Air Force and Western allies, and was active in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

He served in South Korea twice for a total of about two and a half years. From April 1987 to October 1988, when he was a first lieutenant, he was an F-16 pilot at the 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron at the U.S. Air Force base in Gunsan, Jeonbuk. Later, as a colonel, he served as the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing at the Gunsan U.S. Air Force base from May 2007 to May 2008. He also served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces. For these reasons, he is considered an expert on the Korean Peninsula and Asia.

Charles Brown, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee.
Photo by U.S. Air Force official website

On the 25th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden nominated General Brown as the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House Rose Garden. This has attracted attention as it involves appointing a person selected by former President Donald Trump to a higher position.

General Brown will succeed Mark Milley, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is retiring in October after Senate confirmation. Brown, who was appointed as the first Black Chief of Staff of the Air Force in August 2020, will become the second Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Colin Powell.

Additionally, together with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, they will become the first African American (Black) "top two" leaders responsible for the world's strongest U.S. military power. Secretary Austin, the first Black Secretary of Defense, is the first Black person to hold that position in the Biden administration. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as the senior military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the White House National Security Council (NSC).

President Biden said, "There is no one more suitable or qualified than General Brown to lead our military through the challenges and responsibilities ahead," and added, "I look forward to General Brown advising the President as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and helping to keep the American people safe."