Trump fires top US general in unprecedented Pentagon shake-up

US Defence Department enters period of upheaval, with mass firings of civilian staff expected

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, had been sceptical of Gen CQ Brown, left, before taking the helm of the Pentagon. AFP

President Donald Trump on Friday fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen CQ Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of US military leadership.

Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would nominate retired Lt Gen Dan Caine to succeed Gen Brown. A former F-16 fighter pilot, Lt Gen Caine was the associate director of military affairs at the CIA until late last year.

Mr Trump will also replace the head of the US Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, as well as the air force vice chief of staff and judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Pentagon said.

Mr Trump's decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which was already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff, a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in military deployments under Mr Trump's new America First foreign policy.

While the Pentagon's civilian leadership changes from one administration to the next, the uniformed members of US armed forces are meant to be apolitical, carrying out the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations.

Gen Brown was the second black officer to become a president's top uniformed military adviser. Colin Powell was the first. He had been expected to complete his entire four-year term in September 2027.

A US official said Gen Brown was relieved of his duties with immediate effect, even before the Senate confirms his successor.

Reuters in November was first to report that the coming Trump administration planned a sweeping shake-up of the top brass, with firings including Gen Brown.

'Woke' generals

During last year's presidential campaign, President Trump spoke of firing “woke” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan. On Friday, the President did not explain his decision to replace Brown.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had been sceptical of Gen Brown before taking the helm of the Pentagon with a broad agenda that includes eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military.

In his most recent book, Mr Hegseth asked whether Brown would have got the job if he were not black.

“Was it because of his skin colour? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt – which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really much matter,” he wrote in his 2024 book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.

Gen Brown, a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Middle East and Asia, recounted his experiences of discrimination in the military in an emotional video posted online after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests for racial justice.