Washington: US President Donald Trump has made a major reshuffle at the top post of the army. On Friday, he fired the country’s most senior military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General CQ Brown.
This move is part of a major change in the top military leadership. Trump wrote on social media, “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for more than 40 years of service to our country.” He said that five other top officials are also being replaced.
Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan ‘Raj’ Kane will replace Charles Q. Brown. This is an unusual move because Kane is retired and not a four-star general, according to an Air Force official, CNN reported. General Brown was the second black officer to hold this position. The person posted in this position advises both the President and the Defense Secretary on national security.
US Defense Secretary sacked two senior military officials
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier said that Gen Brown should be sacked due to his ‘woke’ focus on diversity, equality and inclusion programmes in the military, reports BBC. Later on Friday, Hegseth announced the sacking of two additional senior officers – Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General Jim Slife. Admiral Franchetti was the first woman to lead the US Navy.
What reason did the US Defense Minister give behind this reshuffle?
All three top officials removed on Friday were appointed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden. Trump described this reshuffle as necessary to focus on the army’s ‘core mission’, while critics called it a move against ‘diversity and inclusion’. At the same time, Defense Minister Hegseth said in a statement, “Under President Trump, we are establishing a new leadership that will focus our army on its core mission of preventing, fighting and winning wars.”
Gen Brown visited troops at the southern US border about two hours before Trump announced his removal on Friday, the BBC reported. This week there had been rumours that the president would remove the commander, whose term was due to expire in 2027.
Voice was raised on the issue of racial justice
General Brown made headlines in 2020 by speaking out on issues such as racial justice following the killing of George Floyd. He posted a video message to the US Air Force describing the pressures he felt as one of the few Black men in his unit, including inquiries about his credentials.
