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#Trump fired the country’s senior #military officer on Fri after weeks of turmoil at the #Pentagon, injecting #politics into selecting the nation’s top military leader.

Gen Charles Q. Brown Jr, a four-star fighter pilot known as C.Q. who became only the second African American to hold the chairman’s job, is to be replaced by a retired three-star Air Force general, John D. Caine, who endeared himself to the president when they met in Iraq 6 yrs ago.

#law #USpol #WhiteSupremacy #NationalSecurity
#JointChiefs chairmen traditionally remain in place as admins change, regardless of the president’s political party. But #Trump White House & #Pentagon officials said they wanted to appoint their own top leaders.

…#Defense Secy #PeteHegseth [drunk rapist] has previously said that General Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on #diversity, #equity & #inclusion programs in the #military.

#law #USpol #WhiteSupremacy #MilitaryPreparedness #NationalSecurity
“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” #PeteHegseth said in a [TV] appearance…in Nov. He added that any general involved with #DEI efforts should be fired. “Either you’re in for warfighting, & that’s it,” he said. “That’s the only litmus test we care about.”

On Hegseth’s first day at the #Pentagon, however, he stood next to General Brown, who became chairman in Oct 2023, & said he looked forward to working w/him.

#law #USpol #WhiteSupremacy #NationalSecurity
But it soon became clear that Gen Brown had not been welcomed into #Trump’s inner circle. He was not invited to key meetings w/the president, ofcls said.

It was a significant reversal for Trump from 2020, when Gen Brown was nominated to be the USAF’s chief of staff. At the time, Trump noted the historic significance of his decision to appoint the “first-ever African American military service chief,” posting that the general was “a Patriot & Great Leader.”

#law #WhiteSupremacy #NationalSecurity
In #Trump’s telling, Dan Caine, the retired AirForce Lt Gen whom he wants to be his next #JointChiefs of Staff chair, made an impression on him when the 2 first met in 2018.

The general told Trump that the Islamic State was not so tough & could be defeated in 1 week, not 2 years as senior advisers predicted…

And at a CPAC meeting last year, Trump said that Gen Caine put on a MAGA hat while meeting w/him in Iraq. (Gen Caine has told aides he has never put on a MAGA hat)

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/dan-caine-trump-joint-chiefs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Gen Caine is a 1990 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, where he received a degree in economics. He later got a master’s in air warfare at the American Military University.

An F-16 pilot with 150 combat flight hours, Gen Caine’s career took him on an unusual path for a future Air Force general.

He was a White House fellow at the Agriculture Dept & a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council under Pres George W. Bush.

#law #USpol #NationalSecurity
He served in several highly secretive #intelligence & special ops assignments, some in the US & some overseas.

Acc/to his military biography, Gen Caine was a part-time member of the Air National Guard from 2009 to 2016 & “a serial entrepreneur & investor.”

He was also an assoc director for #military affairs at the #CIA from 2021 to 2024, serving as the principal liaison to the #Pentagon & working w/the military on several highly classified programs & operations….

#law #USpol #NationalSecurity
In all, 6 #Pentagon officials were fired. In addition to #JointChiefs chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., #Trump also fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first #woman to lead the #Navy; Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the #AirForce; & the top #lawyers for the #Army, Navy & #AirForce.

#USpol #law #military #NationalSecurity #MilitaryPreparedness
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/trump-fires-cq-brown-pentagon.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#Defense Sec #PeteHegseth thanked Adm Franchetti & Gen Slife “for their service & dedication to our country” & requested nominations for their replacements.

Hegseth did not say why he was firing the judge advocates general. But in his Senate confirmation hearing, he criticized #military #lawyers for placing needless #legal restrictions on soldiers in battle — putting “his or her own priorities in front of the war fighters….”[IOW making sure the #law was not broken, no #WarCrimes were committed]
Gen Caine retired w/ 3 stars, as a lieutenant general. By #statute, the chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff is supposed to have served as a combatant Commander, as the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or as the top uniformed officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Space Force.
It’s unclear if Gen Caine will need a congressional waiver; a congressional aide said #Trump had some latitude to choose whom he wanted & exceptions could be made for #NationalSecurity.
#USpol #law #military
Because Gen Caine is retired, he will have to be called back to active duty for the #Senate to hold hearings on his nomination. Only one retired officer has been called back from retirement to serve as chair: Gen Maxwell Taylor in 1962 by JFK.

It’s unclear if Gen Brown will remain chair until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, or whether Adm. Christopher W. Grady, the vice chair, would serve as the acting #JointChiefs chair.

#Trump has now fired 4 four-star officers in the past month.
He aims to control the military
That is one of the primary functions of the POTUS.
Commander and Chief.
The question is, will he abuse the military as he has everything else in his wake?

@Nonilex
Dieser Beitrag wurde bearbeitet. (8 Stunden her)
@Nonilex.

That's a rhetorical question, right?
I think we have a pattern and history to guide us to a rational answer.

@solownh @Nonilex