AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Shirley
Three months into his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., is off to a rocky start. With open conflict in Ukraine and Gaza and looming threats from Iran, North Korea, and China, things aren’t going to get any easier for the former Air Force fighter pilot, whom conservative groups and some Senate Republicans warned was more concerned with left-wing policy priorities than warfighting.
Biden tapped Brown to replace outgoing General Mark Milley, who announced his retirement earlier this year and officially stepped down in September. Although once a highly-respected general, Milley drew intense scrutiny late in his career for his seeming submission to the woke left.
In 2020, for instance, while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Trump, Milley drafted a resignation letter, which was subsequently leaked to the media, stating that Trump was “doing great and irreparable harm” to the nation. Following the nationwide riots over the death of George Floyd, Milley also infamously stated that he “wants to understand white rage” and appeared to defend the inclusion of radical left-wing ideologies like Critical Race Theory in instructional materials for cadets.
Milley also admitted during a congressional hearing in 2021 that he would have given his Chinese counterpart advanced warning if Trump had chosen to launch an attack on China – a seeming admission that Milley would’ve committed treason by undermining the President’s constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief of the military. As military historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson noted on X, it’s worth considering what Milley would have done had someone under his command similarly decided to go rogue and undermine the chain of command.
Under Milley’s tenure, morale among the ranks declined, the military experienced severe recruiting shortfalls, and, following Trump’s departure from the White House, America’s enemies grew bolder and more aggressive. Moreover, public confidence in the military hit a two-decade low just months before Milley left office.
After all this controversy, many Americans were likely hopeful that the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs – the nation’s highest ranking military officer – would focus more on winning wars than wading into divisive political issues. But those hopes were soon dashed when Biden nominated Brown for the post.
As Fox News reported shortly after Brown’s nomination, the general had on multiple occasions stated that he “hires for diversity” and places diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the top of his priorities list. Brown opened the first DEI office in the Air Force in 2021 and launched an investigation into “racial equity” in Air Force hiring practices – a major red flag for Americans who would prefer that the nation’s fighter pilots be selected on the basis of merit rather than race.
In another sign of his commitment to woke ideology, Brown also said that he wants to take a “hard look” at Air Force patches and coins to ensure they are “inclusive.” Following the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Brown suggested that the rioters were treated “too leniently” because they “were white.” But following the widespread riots that led to billions of dollars in destruction after the death of George Floyd in 2020, Brown only accused white airmen of being “empathetic” to racism and lamented how few black Air Force generals there were.
Brown’s controversial history was so concerning that many groups, including AMAC Action, mobilized their members to oppose the nomination. In less than 36 hours, the AMAC community sent over 25,000 messages to senators urging them to vote against the confirmation – an effort that was initially successful, as the vote was scuttled just before the August recess.
Some Republican senators likewise voiced their strong opposition to Brown’s confirmation. Mike Braun of Indiana said that Brown “made woke policy initiatives the central part of his leadership while Air Force flight proficiency and safety standards diminished under his command,” while Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Brown “would prioritize the woke DEI priorities of the Biden administration over merit-based criteria.”
But, as AMAC Action reported, “When the Senate returned in September, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer covertly and quickly called for a vote to confirm General Brown. The General was confirmed, and it should be noted that this tactic used by Senator Schumer was deliberately employed to stop groups like AMAC Action from organizing a united opposition.”
Since then, AMAC members and other conservatives have been proven correct in their belief that Brown’s tenure would prove disastrous. Late last month, Brown ruffled feathers on both sides of the political aisle by suggesting that Israel was not up to the task of defeating Hamas in Gaza and said he was “very much” concerned that Israel’s military operations would only create more terrorists.
Although they are no official numbers yet, anecdotal evidence also suggests that the military’s recruiting crisis isn’t getting any better. Brown has not yet offered any assurances about how the country will address the many foreign threats it faces, and he has continued to stress the importance of DEI initiatives.
After Mark Milley’s tumultuous tenure, the military desperately needed a change of direction. But instead, Biden’s new top general has so far continued to double down on what isn’t working.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
