The Senate on Wednesday voted 83-11 to confirm Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He succeeds Army Gen. Mark Milley, a four-time Wash100 Award winner who took the helm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 2019.
The White House announced Brown’s nomination to serve as the top U.S. military officer in May.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated Brown on his confirmation, thanked Milley for his service and expressed commitment to continue working with Congress to advance the confirmation of military nominees.
“It is well past time to confirm the over 300 other military nominees. The brave men and women of the U.S. military deserve to be led by highly-qualified general and flag officers at this critical moment for our national security,” Austin, a three-time Wash100 awardee, said in a statement.
Prior to assuming the chief of staff role, Brown was the commander of the Pacific Air Forces, air component commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and executive director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff.
The Air Force general previously served as deputy head of U.S. Central Command, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command and director for the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group.
Brown, a command pilot, also served as a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia.
