Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired two four-star military leaders on Friday evening, making good on a promise to review general officers and replace any who were not aligned with his and President Donald Trump’s efforts to prioritize lethality and war-fighting in the military.
Hegseth fired Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife.
He stated that they “have had distinguished careers,” and said, “We thank them for their service and dedication to our country.”
He added he was also requesting nominations for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning war,” he said
Just before Hegseth’s announcement, Trump fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, who was put in that position by former President Joe Biden.
Trump announced his decision on Truth Social, saying:
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. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.
Trump also announced Brown’s replacement, Air Force Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Dan “Razin” Caine, whom he got to know during his first term.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the top military adviser to the president. While they typically serve four-year terms, they can be replaced at any time by a president.
Brown famously filmed a video amid the George Floyd riots sweeping the nation, in which he called Floyd’s death “tragic,” and said that he was “full of emotion.”
As chief of staff of the Air Force, he also pushed to get more African Americans and other minorities as officers by telling commanders to recruit more for the “applicant pool” — so as to get around explicitly calling for racial quotas.
Also under Brown’s tenure as Air Force chief of staff, Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of the Air Force, former Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, was fired from his Space Force command after he published a book on Marxism spreading in the United States military and discussed his book on a podcast.
Hegseth said about the incoming chairman:
This evening the President announced that he intends to nominate Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine, USAF, for the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor 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. I look forward to working with him.
He also wished Brown well.
“The outgoing Chairman, Gen. Charles ‘CQ’ Brown, Jr., USAF, has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service. I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country,” he said.
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