Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. delivers his “Accelerate Change to Empowered Airmen” speech during the 2021 Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 20, 2021. (US Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)
WASHINGTON — Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, president Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned today that Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s high-profile blockade of military appointments will force the US military to “lose talent.”
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing for his impending role, Brown said in response to questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that officials are “working to mitigate the challenges associated with the holds,” on hundreds of military nominations, highlighting impacts on readiness, leadership transitions and military families.
Brown also underscored concerns with retention, stating that younger officers may not want to pursue military service if politics jeopardizes their career advancement. “Because we have more junior officers who now will look up and say, ‘if that’s the challenge that I’m gonna have to deal with in the future, I may not want to — I’m gonna balance between my family and serving in a senior position.’ And we will lose talent because of those challenges,” he reasoned.
“The spouse network is alive and well,” he added. “And the spouses will compare notes. The member may want to serve, but the spouses in the families get a huge vote.”
Brown’s comments come on the heels of the most direct rebuke of Tuberville’s block by a uniformed member of the Pentagon, with Army. Lt. Gen. Andrew Rohling on Monday directly imploring senators to “help us overcome” the hold, which he called “reprehensible, irresponsible and dangerous,” according to a report in Punchbowl News.
Brown’s own confirmation is also at risk of being held up by Tuberville’s hold, with the Marine Corps currently lacking a new top officer for the same reason, though the Punchbowl report notes that senators are expected to move Brown’s nomination forward with a more time-consuming floor vote.
During the hearing, Brown was mostly praised by senators in attendance, including some Republicans who expressly backed his nomination. If confirmed, Brown would be the second Black man to serve as the top military advisor to the president after being the first Black man to lead a military branch, and would join Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the first pair of Black men to lead the Pentagon.
But the hearing was not free of culture war debates that have roiled the Defense Department, with some more conservative senators questioning the Pentagon’s current diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Noting current recruiting shortfalls, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI., asked Brown for his view of the importance of DEI programs considering his own career experience, to which he responded “I think about for my own career and for all of our members, all they want is a fair opportunity to perform… They do not want to be advantaged or disadvantaged or discounted based on their background. They want to have the opportunity but then you’ve got to be qualified.”
Warren further raised the prospect of Brown joining many of his former colleagues in going on to secure lucrative jobs in defense contracting after their military service is up. Stating that Brown’s “actions will set the tone for the entire armed forces,” Warren asked the Air Force general whether he would make a commitment like Austin to not work as a lobbyist for a defense contractor for four years after he leaves government.
In response, Brown said, “I don’t intend to pursue opportunities in the defense sector or [as] a lobbyist upon retirement from military service. My passion is in leadership and mentoring, and that’s where I want to focus my efforts after military service, [on] building the next generation of leaders.”
Pointing to former Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford joining the board of defense giant Lockheed Martin less than five months after leaving government, Warren asked whether Brown would likewise “commit to not receive compensation from a defense contractor for four years [after leaving his post], including compensation for being a board member.”
When Brown said he’d offer the same answer, Warren replied “I’ll take that as a yes then.”
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