In somewhat of a surprise move, President Trump ‘accepted the resignation’ of former Chair of the Joint Chiefs General CQ Brown last night. Also on the chopping block were former CNO Lisa Franchetti and the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Lieutenant General James Slife.
All three were Biden appointees and all three were big on DEI.
Brown’s removal was announced in a post on Truth Social.
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. . .
The post went on to announce Brown’s replacement, Air Force LTG Dan ‘Razin’ Caine.
Today, I am 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.
During my first term, Razin was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate. It was done in record setting time, a matter of weeks. Many so-called military “geniuses” said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered.
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. But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military. Finally, I have also directed Secretary Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high level positions, which will be announced soon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Caine is a bit of an unusual choice. He has been on the retired list since 2024. He is a qualified F-15 pilot and spent the large part of his career in the National Guard.
The permanent replacement for the CNO has not been announced yet. Admiral James W. Kilby, the current Vice CNO will be filling the position until someone has been confirmed by the Senate.
The same situation holds for the Vice chief of staff for the Air Force. There has not been a permanent replacement named yet.
In addition, the Inspectors General of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Army Lieutenant General Joseph B. Berger III, Navy Rear Admiral Lia M. Reynolds, and Air Force Lieutenant General Charles L. Plummer were fired. Berger was caught trying to hide Army DEI initiatives in his command by renaming them and moving the personnel into a different office.