The president also directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to nominate suitable individuals for five additional high-level positions.
President Donald Trump has fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In a Truth Social post Friday evening, Trump thanked Brown for his service.
“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,” Trump wrote. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”
Trump announced he was nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to replace Brown.
“General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience,” wrote Trump.
The president also said in the social media post that he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to nominate suitable individuals for five additional high-level positions.
Caine is set to become the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. He would also become the principal military adviser to the president, secretary of defense, and National Security Council.
“General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment,” Hegseth wrote in a statement. “I look forward to working with him.”
Hegseth noted that outgoing Chairman Brown has had a distinguished career, serving honorably over the past four decades.
“I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth has also requested nominations for the positions of chief of naval operation and Air Force vice chief of staff. His nominees would replace Admiral Lisa Franchetti and General James Slife, respectively.
“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting, and winning wars,” Hegseth stated in the statement.
Caine was sworn in as the associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency in November 2021. He most recently served as the director of special programs and the Department of Defense Special Access Program Central Office at the Pentagon. He served as the principal staff assistant and adviser to the secretary of defense for all programs under special access controls.
