CQ Brown in the Gunsights?

| November 12, 2024


Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Pentagon officials anxious Trump may fire the military’s top general

The president-elect has railed against “woke” generals and others who have pushed for diversity initiatives in the ranks.
By Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary

Defense officials are getting anxious about the possibility of the incoming Trump administration firing Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, due to perceptions that he is out of step with the president-elect on the Pentagon’s diversity and inclusion programs.

The Trump administration’s DOD transition team — led by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie — has yet to officially set foot in the Pentagon since the election was called, owing to the transition team’s refusal so far to accept assistance from the federal government. But concern is beginning to bubble up that Brown, who spoke publicly about the challenges of rising through the military as a Black man as Donald Trump urged the Defense Department to crack down on the George Floyd protests in 2020, could be swept out by a president-elect who has promised to make the Pentagon less “woke.”

The chair’s four-year term normally is staggered so they serve the end of one administration and the beginning of another.

For Brown, that two-year mark arrives in September 2025, well into Trump’s first year back in office. There is no rule, however, prohibiting Trump from dismissing him sooner. Any such move would be extraordinary, though not unprecedented.

“There is some anxiety,” said one current DOD official, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. “I think they are immediately worried,” the official said of Brown’s team.

“He’s a DEI/woke champion,” a second DOD official said. “Can imagine he’ll be gone quite quickly.”

Politico

Unnamed sources close to Trump state no decisions have been made but the chain of command is being “evaluated.” Time for CQ to look for that golden parachute? I understand Boeing has recently cut way back on its DEI hiring practices, so there’s that.

Category: 2024 Election, Big Pentagon

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Forest Bondurant

Gen Brown, Lloyd Austin and every service secretary who has peddled DEI and all other social justice initiatives should be shown the door.

They shouldn’t be “worried”. They should be seeking employment elsewhere.

Tallywhagger

Be a real shame if Boeing were to be replaced as a contractor to another contractor in a right to work state… the kind of place where things get done, fast, and on budget.

Odie

Didn’t dept. of labor threaten to sue boeing(?) a few years ago for talking about moving from Washington state to somewhere in the Carolinas?

USAFRetired

Boeings 787 Assembly plant is in North Charleston, SC

Forest Bondurant

Boeing still has production plants in Washington State (one outside of Everett and another on the outskirts of Spokane).

Folks that worked at those locations were on strike. Not those in North Charleston.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

At the pleasure of the President comes with some understanding that your CinC is allowed to send you packing if the President is not pleased with your work…

I understand the military is trying to be an inclusive environment where all are equal and rise according to their merit, and that is and always has been a noble goal, but at the end of the day the mission of the military is to provide a deterrent to those who would oppose our civilian foreign policy goals and when necessary to provide a violent response to force compliance with our foreign policy goals…

As such it requires a killing force capable of inflicting maximum damage while suffering minimal damage in return….that may be more important than helping a psychologically impaired individual cut their pecker off and pretend to be a woman while forcing their fellow service members to play along with the pretense…

Sailorcurt

“I understand the military is trying to be an inclusive environment where all are equal and rise according to their merit”

Really? That’s what they’re trying to do? Could have fooled me. Even as far back as 40 years ago when I joined the military, merit was, if not quite secondary yet, at least equal to the consideration of meeting race and gender quotas.

Yes, I know…”there were no official quotas”. Sure, they never wrote them down on paper because that would be a scandal (and possibly illegal), but they were there nonetheless.

Now I’d say merit is purely secondary to “diversity” goals, but I’m not on the inside any more, so that’s just my opinion.

Diversity is not what makes an organization effective; effectiveness is what makes an organization effective. Not circular logic. Hire and promote effective people, and your organization will be effective. Don’t and it won’t.

Period.

Green Thumb

Yep.

Hack Stone

The only diversity the US Military needs is from the effectiveness of combined arms. Nothing like over the horizon ordnance calibrating the enemy’s attitude.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

“Really? That’s what they’re trying to do? Could have fooled me. Even as far back as 40 years ago when I joined the military, merit was, if not quite secondary yet, at least equal to the consideration of meeting race and gender quotas.”

I was trying to be generous here and hope that these people are working from a place of positive intent…the execution and result are clearly suck ass…and perhaps I was being naive and they really are just pimping for politics which is what you are suggesting and is probably more accurate.

I’ve been out since before you joined so I clearly haven’t seen the current state of affairs in over 4 decades…and I will thus defer to your experience as more recent than my own.

In reality what I’ve seen reported doesn’t impress me, but I had hoped it was coming from a place of honest intent…so much for hoping. Thanks for pointing me back to the straight and narrow.

Last edited 1 month ago by Veritas Omnia Vincit
SFC D

Equality is a wonderful thing. Everybody gets the same chance and starts at the same point. The results depend on individual effort and are not the same. As it should be. Equity is a dangerous lie. Everyone doesn’t make the varsity team, and not everyone who does is in the starting lineup. You get what you earn, nothing more, nothing less, and nobody owes you shit. Liberals do not understand this.

Sapper3307

The salt must flow.

You_Fired_Donald_Trump-700x467
E. Conboy

That photo would great on a lUPS stamp.

E. Conboy

Sorry. Typo crap! But you understand, don’t ’cha?

KoB

Fire ’em all and bring back the ones that the JEF and sniffy creepy forced out.

MustangCryppie

Don’t even think twice about it, Mr. President. This guy and his ilk will undercut you at every opportunity. Smiling all the while as they stab you in the back.

Last edited 1 month ago by MustangCryppie
5JC

Perhaps you can share if 130 hours of combat flight time seems low in the context of military aviation since 1984? Not saying it’s bad or anything but it seems like anyone who has served for the last 40 years as a pilot would have more than a couple of weeks worth of combat hours?

timactual

I am not sure I would consider flying a B-1 or F-16 in A’stan as “combat” flying.

MustangCryppie

And considering that he is Air Force, that deepens the mystery. I saw E-3s in the Air Force who looked like North Korean generals with all the ribbons they had.

Last edited 1 month ago by MustangCryppie
CDR D

Sounds like the USCG after Paul Yost took the helm.

SpaceChairForceOne

Junior enlisted aircrew types can very much come back from a pair of “short” (45-60 day) mission rotations looking like NorK generals. Going to NCO leadership schools the enlisted aircrew always stuck out on “blues” days compared to us MX or comm types. Credit to them flying those missions that I was happy to avoid! Nothing like being shot at and not being able to get under something for cover hoping the pilots had good avoidance skills. 😬☠️

Green Thumb

CQ!

Mick

Shack, AW1Ed.

His record of “130 combat hours” but no Air Medal tells me that he never rolled in hot and delivered ordnance on a hostile target anywhere. Meaning that he never played out there for real where the SAMs, AAA, and MANPADs are.

Probably logged those “combat hours” hanging on the blades at max endurance over some secure holding area, periodically hitting the tanker, and then heading back to base for hot chow and cold beer.

“Combat hours.” Yeah; OK. Sure thing.

*Note for those here who don’t speak Naval Aviation: the NATOPS definition of “CQ” = Conditionally Qualified. Not something that you ever want in your records.

5JC

Kind of like being PV2 Nogo in the Army.

Anonymous

Patrolling the Iraqi No-Fly Zone?

Graybeard

My uncle was flight mechanic in Korea.

He told of getting to ride along with one pilot on a mission and them getting shot at. Made him a little nervous. As a mechanic he wasn’t supposed be where the Norks could shoot at him.

He had the experience (shook his head at his own stupidity when telling this) but never tried to get any recognition for it. Possibly because a rule or two was ignored in the process.

Nevertheless, he had more combat experience in consequence than this poser. Probably went along on some safe rides to ensure his resume looked good. Career enhancing one might say. But an otherwise useless cog in the machine.

E. Conboy

Good man, your uncle.

Graybeard

Thank you.
He was, indeed. Miss him.

His wife, my aunt, and he met in San Diego when he returned. She had been a child in Nazi Germany, he father killed late in Berlin. She and her mother nearly killed by a bomb, nearly raped by a Russian soldier, lived in a bombed out apartment… but somehow made it to the USA.

We are blessed to still have her around!

Graybeard

Thinking on it, she has more experience in combat that this General.
Much more.

rgr769

I have three for riding into combat ops in aircraft. But I took enemy fire in one Huey as part of a LRRP op.

BlueCordDad

Kill our enemies and break their shit. Any thing else is superfluous…Sack all the non-hackers🇺🇸

Anonymous

comment image

26Limabeans

I’d fire him just for that shit eating grin.

AW1 Rod

Shitcan SECDEF, all the Joint Chiefs and the Commandants of all the service academies. That’s the only way to ever truly eliminate the disease that is DEI.

rgr769

Agree, completely.

E. Conboy

But they read a book about it…

CDR D

There needs to be a policy that these FOGOs cannot go sit on the boards of any entity doing business with the government without deferring their retired pay.

rgr769

The Congress should pass a law that requires the suspension of their retired pay while working for any entity that is a defense contractor.

Forest Bondurant

I like the idea that GO/FOs must bench 200+ before assuming rank, and must consistently do so throughout their careers.

Green Thumb

I see permanent CQ in Fort Living Room.

HT3

The optics of dismissing before his term is up is thing that has Diddycrats salivating. DJT can still knee-cap him until Sep then make sure new Chairman has his “mind right” on the task at hand.

SpaceChairForceOne

Considering the appalling state of the ChairForce right now I’m wondering how this person ever got the JCC job to begin with.
Our shit be broke folks and gonna take a whole lot of the right people, time and cash to “un-f&*k” what these jokers have let fall apart during the past few years.
I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be anyone senior on the Air Staff right now…

Forest Bondurant

How did he ever get the JCC job to begin with?

Obviously, had Brandon not selected him, the administration couldn’t claim credit for being the first to choose an African American General Officer to consecutively serve with an African American Defense Secretary (Lloyd “Abby Gate” Austin).

A Proud Infidel®™

Just to be honest, how many in the Joke Biteme Administration WEREN’T DEI tokens?
Asking for a friend.

Forest Bondurant

That answer would be ZERO!

A Proud Infidel®™

Not just the Military, someone in the US State Department was quoted as saying that “There is a lot that needs to be unfucked after four years of Biden”.

QMC

Thank you for your service General Brown.

Enjoy your retirement effective January 20th, 2025.

Hack Stone

Remember when Barack Obama fired General McChrystal for talking smack about Joe Biden. If you want to undermine the elected leader of the country, submit your resignation, don’t promise to call the Chinese and let them know an attack is coming.

QMC

Stan the Man was and still is an asshole.

He was just my kinda asshole in that one particular instance.

Fyrfighter

Erik Prince for SecDef?

rgr769

Pete Hegseth has been tapped for SecDef.

Fyrfighter

Ok, I think I could get behind that.

Odie

Just saw that and was wondering if anybody knows or knows of him.

5JC

It will work. They could have done better but we have definitely had worse.

rgr769

Well, we have a scrunt as Secretary of the Army who never served a day in any service.

11B-Mailclerk

Hegseth got SecSef because Kyle Rittenhouse was busy.

(Grin)

Forest Bondurant

I wonder who Trump will nominate as Directors of the DOJ, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, and other law enforcement agencies.

Christopher Wray is most certainly going to be dismissed.

Jimbojszz

I’m wondering if you salute woke generals or just kinda givem a low wave. Like when you pass another motorcycle.

Graybeard

How many fingers in that wave?

Odie

Just the one, but make it a sharp salute. One with feeling.

5JC

You raise your right hand and run your hair through your head. Because any general that is woke enough will go to prison on principle.

Last edited 1 month ago by 5JC
E. Conboy

So Boeing’s hiring ‘Door Inspectors’ now?

JTB

No room for Rainbow Warriors in the Military….

Odie

The hurt feelings will be strong.

11B-Mailclerk

I look forward to Armed Forces that are less “Kermit’s Rainbow Connection” and more “March of Cambreadth”.