General Mark Milley relinquished his position as the foremost military officer of the United States on Friday, closing a chapter filled with domestic and international challenges.
His successor, General CQ Brown, steps into the role as the second Black officer to helm the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding Colin Powell, amidst the tenure of Lloyd Austin, AFP reports.
Reflecting on his term last month with AFP, Milley remarked, “it was one crisis right after another.”
His tenure was punctuated by pivotal events including Russia’s foray into Ukraine, America’s disastrous exit from Afghanistan, the aftermath of the presidential elections which saw former President Donald Trump disputing the results.
Milley’s exit occurs amidst a period of scrutiny directed at the military’s top brass, particularly from conservative quarters, criticizing what they perceive as the adoption of “woke” policies within the military ranks.
Poised to continue the legacy, General Brown has been a commissioned U.S. Air Force officer since 1984.
Brown holds a record of over 3,000 flight hours, 130 of which were in combat.
His leadership repertoire includes commanding a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, and overseeing U.S. air forces under the Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command, in addition to serving as the chief of staff of the Air Force.
Brown has pushed race-centric notions, emphasizing what he perceives as pressure to “perform error-free” and to work “twice as hard” in order to defy what he characterizes as racially tinted expectations.
