If confirmed by the Senate, he would become the second African-American to serve as the highest-ranking officer in the world‘s most powerful military, after Colin Powell in the 1990s.
US President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday, May 25, his intention to appoint General Charles Brown, who currently commands the Air Force, at the top of the US military hierarchy, according to his official program published by the White House.
Brown, if his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, would be the second African-American to serve as the highest-ranking officer in the world‘s most powerful military, after Colin Powell in the 1990s. An equally black defense minister: Lloyd Austin. The current head of the US Air Force is a former experienced pilot with 3,000 flight hours, including 130 in combat. Brigade chief, he was then commander of the American air forces in the Middle East and the Pacific.
The general had made a name for himself in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations against racism, following the death of George Floyd. The high-ranking officer had posted a video reporting on the discrimination he himself suffered, including in the military. In the Air Force, “I was often the only African American in my squad and, as a high-ranking officer, the only African American in the room. “he said at the time. “I think about the pressure I had to make a clean sheet, especially from my superiors, who I felt expected less of me, as an African American.” He also said there was “worked twice as hard” for“demonstrate that their expectations and perceptions of African Americans were unfounded.”