By Alfred Acenas
EBC Hawaii Bureau
PEARL HARBOR (Eagle News) – The U.S. Senate confirmed General Charles Q. Brown Jr., on Tuesday, June 9, to be the 22nd Chief of Staff of the Air Force, clearing the way for the decorated pilot and experienced field commander to become the first African American in history to lead a U.S. military branch as its highest-ranking officer. The Senate vote was 98-0.
The last African American four-star general to have ever been appointed as a military branch chief or higher was Colin Powell, who served as the country’s 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.
Prior to the confirmation vote in Washington, D.C., General Brown testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on May 7. During the said hearing, Brown pledged to ensure Air Force readiness to support the National Defense Strategy if confirmed.
“I am committed to the Air Force achieving irreversible momentum towards implementation of the National Defense Strategy and an integrated and more lethal joint force,” Brown said.
Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett congratulated Brown on his confirmation and highlighted the important role he will play leading the Air Force into the future and carrying on the strategic vision of the current Air Force chief of staff, General David L. Goldfein, whom Brown will replace via a swearing-in ceremony on August 6.
“I join leaders, Airmen and Space Professionals from across the forces in congratulating General Brown and his wife Sharene,” Barrett said. “Leaders of their caliber will perpetuate the legacy of excellence that General Goldfein and Dawn Goldfein have epitomized over the last four years. General Brown’s unrivaled leadership, operational experience and global perspective will prove crucial as we continue modernizing the Air Force to meet tomorrow’s national security challenges and protect our nation.”
Goldfein also congratulated Brown and cited his unparalleled qualifications to be the next Air Force chief of staff. “There is no one I know who is better prepared to be chief of staff, no one who has the experience and the temperament to lead the Air Force,” Goldfein said. “The Air Force and our nation will be in good hands under his leadership.”
Chief of Space Operations and fellow service chief, General Jay Raymond, also congratulated Brown on his confirmation.
“General Brown is an innovative leader who clearly understands the complex and evolving strategic environment we face today as a Department,” Raymond said. “He clearly understands the importance of leading across all domains to compete, deter and win — especially in war-fighting domains like space. I am thrilled with Gen. Brown’s confirmation. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate.”
Brown was commissioned in 1984 as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at Texas Tech University. He is a command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours, including 130 combat hours.
Brown currently serves as commander of the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), as well as air component commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. PACAF is responsible for Air Force activities spread over half the globe in a command that supports more than 46,000 Airmen serving principally in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam.
(Eagle News Service)