Biden to nominate history-making Air Force fighter pilot for next Joint Chiefs chairman

FILE – Charles Quinton Brown Jr, U.S. general and chief of staff of the United States Air Force, smiles during his visit from Tactical Air Wing 73 “Steinhoff.” (Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that he is tapping a history-making Air Force fighter pilot with years of experience in shaping U.S. defenses to meet China’s rise to serve as the nation’s next top military officer, according to a senior administration official.

Brown’s confirmation would mean that, for the first time, both the Pentagon’s top military and civilian positions would be held by African Americans. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the first Black Pentagon chief, has been in the job since the beginning of the administration. The only other Black person to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman was Army Gen. Colin Powell.

Biden saw Brown as the right person for the job because of his work modernizing the U.S. fleet of aircraft and its nuclear arsenal. He’s also been deep in the Pentagon’s efforts to equip Ukraine with billions of dollars in U.S. weaponry, the official said.

Three years ago he became the first Black Air Force chief of staff, the service’s top military officer, which also made him the first African American to lead any of the military branches.

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FILE – Charles Quinton Brown Jr, U.S. general and chief of staff of the United States Air Force, sits in the cabin before flying the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft.  (Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)

That effort could depend heavily upon the military’s ability to rapidly meet China’s rise in cyberwar, space, nuclear weapons and hypersonics, all areas Brown has sharply focused on for the last several years as the Air Force’s top military leader, in order to modernize U.S. airpower for a 21st century fight.

The Joint Chiefs chairman is the highest-ranking officer in the country and serves as the senior military adviser to the president, the defense secretary and the National Security Council. The chairman commands no troops and is not formally in the chain of command. But the chairman plays a critical role in all major military issues, from policy decisions to advice on major combat operations, and leads meetings with all the joint chiefs who head the various armed services.

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