F-16 Pilot Tapped To Chair Joint Chiefs

A 3,000-hour career Air Force pilot has been tapped to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Charles Quinton Brown Jr., the current head of the Air Force, will assume the post next fall when the current chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, will leave the post, assuming he's confirmed by the Senate. Brown has flown 20 aircraft types and flew 130 hours in combat. Most of his postings have been on the F-16. But despite his right stuff resumé, it's Brown's geopolitical specialty that likely tilted the nomination in his favor.

Brown was commander of the Air Force in the Pacific and was naturally preoccupied with getting air power realigned to face the increasingly belligerent tone coming out of Beijing. "General Brown is a warrior," said President Joe Biden in his nomination announcement. "He knows what it means to be in the thick of battle—and how to keep your cool when things get hard."