• Trump announces unprecedented military leadership shakes.
• Trump to nominate the retired LT Gen Dan Caine as Brown’s successor.
• Defense Secretary Hegeth Skeptical over Brown’s appointment.

President Donald Trump fired Friday the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the General CQ Brown of the Air Defense, pushing five other admirals and generals into an unprecedented shake of US military leadership.

Trump said in a post about truth social that he would nominate former Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to succeed Brown and break with the tradition of pulling someone out of retirement for the first time to become the top military officer.

The president will also replace the leader of the US Navy, a position contained by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman who led a military service, as well as the Deputy Deputy Chief of the Air Force, the Pentagon said. He also removes the judge’s advocates of the army, fleet and air force, critical attitudes that ensure enforcement of military justice.

Trump’s decision deterres a period of upheaval at Pentagon, which was already aligned with mass fires by civilian staff, a dramatic revision of its budget and a shift in military deployments under Trump’s new America’s first foreign policy.

While Pentagon’s civilian leadership is changing from one administration to the next, the uniformed members of the US armed forces are intended to be apolitical and implement the policies of democratic and Republican administrations.

Brown, the second black officer who became the president’s top uniformed military adviser, was expected to end his four -year term in September 2027.

An American official said Brown was relieved with immediate effect before the Senate confirms his successor.

Reuters in November should first report that the incoming Trump administration planned a sweeping shake of the top brass with layoffs including Brown.

Democratic lawmakers condemned Trump’s decision, a Republican.

“To shoot uniformed leaders as a type of political loyalty test or for reasons that relate to diversity and gender that has nothing to do with performance erodes the confidence and professionalism that our officials require to reach their missions,” said Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, the top Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusets Democrat, said the layoffs were “U-American, unpatriotic and dangerous to our troops and our national security.”

“This is the definition of politicizing our military,” he said.

‘Woke up’ generals

During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump talked about shooting “woke up” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 extraction from Afghanistan. On Friday, the president did not explain his decision to replace Brown.

“I would like to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service for our country, including as our current chairman of the joint staff chiefs. He is a fine gentleman and an excellent leader and I want a great future for him and His family, ”Trump wrote.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth had been skeptical of Brown before taking the helm on the Pentagon with a broad agenda that includes the elimination of diversity, justice and inclusion initiatives in the military.

In his latest book, Hegeth asked if Brown would have got the job if he wasn’t black.

“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We 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 call cards, it doesn’t really do Much something, “he wrote in his book from 2024” The War on Warriors: Behind The Betrayal of the Men, which keeps us free.

Brown, a former fighter pilot who has had commands in the Middle East and Asia, told about experiencing discrimination in the military in an emotional video broadcast online after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which triggered nationwide protests for raced.

Brown was on official journey when Trump announced the message. Hours before Trump’s post, Brown’s official X account had sent photos of him meeting troops on the US border with Mexico, deployed in support of Trump’s crash on illegal immigration.

“Border security has always been critical of the defense of our homeland. When we navigate unprecedented security challenges … we will ensure that our troops at the border have everything they need,” Brown released.

A spokesman for Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Female leaders fired

Franchetti was the first woman to command the US Navy.

Her nomination of 2023 by then -President Joe Biden had been a surprise. The Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who at that time led the Navy in the Pacific. Paparo was instead promoted to lead the US military’s Indo Pacific Command.

On his first day in the office, Trump fired Admiral Linda Fagan as head of the US Coast Guard. She had been its first female commander.

Last month, Trump’s Pentagon Mark Milley, a retired ravage and former chairman of the joint staff managers jumped by revoking his personal security details and security preparation. It also removed his portrait from the Pentagon walls.

Miley, who served as the top US military officer during some of Trump’s first presidential term, became a leading critic of him after retiring as a four -star general in 2023 under the bite’s administration and has been exposed to death threats.