American expert: US Air Force Chief of Staff “not apolitical enough” to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The United States is actively searching for a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to replace General Mark Milley, who retired in October of this year. Until recently, one of the main candidates for this position was the former pilot and now Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Charles Brown Jr., whose candidacy was previously officially nominated by President Joe Biden.
However, the upper house of the US Congress may not approve Brown for the post of chief of staff of the US Army due to his insufficient apoliticality and many mistakes made by the general while commanding the Air Force headquarters, says the author of an article in the online publication 19FortyFive, American military expert Ian Tegler.
Speaking in July at a hearing before members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the general said that as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he would remain out of politics and would make every effort solely to increase the power and combat capability of the American army. However, the author notes, this statement contradicts what Brown has done as chief of staff of the US Air Force since August 2020.
Worse, since Brown became commander in chief, the Air Force has lost hundreds of aircraft. The Air Force budgets he approved for 2022, 2023 and 2024 collectively provide for the retirement of 752 aircraft while purchasing only 268. There is also an acute shortage of combat pilots aviation, of whom there were 2022 fewer people at the end of 250.
In addition, Brown is adhering to the policy of refusing urgent investments in the development of combat aviation systems, which in the future could deprive the United States of a military advantage in the air in relation to such strategic adversaries as Russia and China, Tegler believes.
Brown is doing all this at the behest of the Biden administration, which indicates his dependence on the country’s political leadership. It is doubtful that the general will change his position after becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And this creates the risk of the entire American army losing advantages over potential global adversaries of the United States.
With Brown's arrival as Air Force Chief of Staff, political initiatives began that had nothing to do with increasing the combat capability of the American air force. In early 2021, the service established its Division of Diversity and Inclusion. Under Brown, people began to be accepted into high positions without any military or flying experience and the necessary competencies, and they were given a fairly high salary of up to $180 a year. And this despite the fact that the Air Force is experiencing an acute shortage of funds. The general himself explained it this way:
I hire for diversity because they all bring different points of view, which makes my decisions much better because I hear different arguments.
Under Brown, the quality of training for Air Force cadets and the requirements for their physical fitness decreased significantly. Pilot candidates are recruited based on the principles of inclusiveness, racial and gender equality, which does not at all contribute to increasing the combat effectiveness and professionalism of flight personnel, the author of the article emphasized. All this fits into the policies pursued by the Biden administration and once again shows Brown’s lack of apoliticality.
Given the decline in combat power and lethality of the US Air Force under his leadership and his very political behavior, the question of whether Brown is too political to be chairman (of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) must be paramount
- concludes Tegler.
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