The US President Donald Trump has dismissed the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown and a number of other commanders.
This is reported by CNN.
On the eve of his dismissal, Trump called Brown a “fine gentleman” and “an outstanding leader”. Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Kane was appointed to replace him. This is an unusual move, as Kane is retired and not a four-star general, the newspaper writes.
The US federal law requires the president to select senior military officers from among combatant commanders or service chiefs who hold four-star ranks — generals or admirals. The president has the right to waive the requirement in the national interest.
“I have also directed Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high-level positions to be announced in the near future,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Soon after, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth reported the firing of Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Lisa Franchetti. The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff General James Slife was also cut.
As CNN writes, the dismissal of the second black man to serve as the most senior American general and the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a powerful signal from an administration that has pushed equality and inclusion beyond the law.
Retired military judge and former Air Force chief prosecutor Don Christensen says such personnel decisions create the impression that the government wants to see "more compliant" people in these positions.
- In November 2024, Reuters reported that members of Trumpʼs transition team were compiling a list of Pentagon personnel they planned to fire. The agency then announced that the list would include members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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