Chairman of the Joint Chiefs advises the president on use of America’s military power

The dismissal of Gen. Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was startling, if not unexpected, at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump had appointed Brown to lead the Air Force in 2020, and in 2023, former President Joe Biden elevated him to the chairmanship. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had signaled that Brown’s ouster was a key part of their overhaul of the Department of Defense, one...