President Trump Overhauls Top Military Leadership, Dismissing Key Officials

US President Donald Trump has dismissed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown, the highest-ranking officer in the nation, as part of a significant reorganization of top military brass.

“I want to extend my gratitude to General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of dedicated service to our country,” Trump announced on social media. He also mentioned that five other senior officers would also be replaced.

General Brown was only the second African American to hold this prestigious position, responsible for advising both the president and the secretary of defense on matters of national security.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously stated that General Brown should be relieved due to his “woke” emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the military.

Later that Friday, Hegseth revealed the firings of two more senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Jim Slife.

Admiral Franchetti made history as the first woman to lead the US Navy.

All three high-ranking officers dismissed on Friday had been appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

Hegseth declared in a statement: “Under President Trump, we are establishing new leadership that will concentrate our military on its primary mission of deterring, fighting, and winning wars.”

Trump announced his intention to nominate Air Force Lt Gen Dan Caine, an experienced F-16 pilot who recently served as CIA associate director for military affairs, as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Last year, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump shared his first encounter with Gen Caine in Iraq, saying, “He looked better than any movie actor you could get,” to the audience.

During the same speech, Trump commended the US military but criticized what he called a “woke” leadership.

Gen Brown was visiting troops at the southern US border on Friday, just a couple of hours before Trump’s announcement of his dismissal.

Speculation had been rife throughout the week that the president would remove the commander, whose term was slated to end in 2027.

General Brown gained attention in 2020 when he spoke out on racial issues following George Floyd’s death.

He released a video message addressing the US Air Force about the challenges he faced as one of the few black men in his unit, including being questioned about his credentials.

In 2022, as chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen Brown co-authored a memo detailing diversity goals to increase the number of minority officer candidates while reducing the rate at which white candidates applied, according to the Air Force Times.

Colin Powell was the pioneering black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving from 1989 to 1993.

One of Trump’s initial actions after taking office last month was to dismiss the first female commandant of the Coast Guard, citing a “heavy focus” on diversity.

The Pentagon also announced on Friday a budget reduction that would lead to the termination of 5,400 probationary employees in the coming week.

Furthermore, a federal court in Maryland temporarily halted Trump’s plans to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.