11/14/2024
After Trump’s Pentagon Pick, a Top U.S. General Faces a Brewing Storm
Air Force Gen. Charles Brown, Jr. tends to hew to a cautious tack
Since becoming America's top military officer last year, Air Force Gen. Charles Brown, Jr. has hewed to a cautious tack: keeping his views largely to himself, publicly deferring to elected leaders on pressing security questions and attempting to steer clear of the polarized politics consuming the nation at large.
But Brown was thrust into the heart of a brewing storm Tuesday when President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and Fox News host, to become defense secretary, days after Hegseth suggested firing Brown and other senior officers over what he described as a “woke” agenda undermining U.S. military strength. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brown serves as chief military adviser to both the president and the Pentagon chief.
Trump’s selection of Hegseth — who rose to prominence among Trump-aligned conservatives decrying the dangers of Pentagon “wokeism” and advocating defiance of long-standing military norms — sharply intensifies the challenges facing Brown in the wake of Trump’s Nov. 5 victory, as the general must navigate a highly charged presidential transition and shepherd 1.3 million active-duty troops into a new era while staring down a possible dismissal by his incoming boss.
Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.