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A conservative watchdog group accuses Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. of embracing race-based hiring and promotions in the military for the sake of “diversity.”
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF), an opposition research group that has taken credit for dismantling several Biden nominations, is now targeting Brown, the president’s nominee to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For the group, these are several public statements Brown has made offering his full support for the Army’s Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion, or DEI, programs.
Brown, the first black man to lead a branch of the U.S. military, has been outspoken in his belief that the military should be proactive in elevating diverse candidates to key positions. His previous public statements expressing his views provide ample ammunition for critics such as AAF and Republican opponents of DEI policies to attack his nomination.
“We all have to find those diverse candidates to bring them in. And that’s what we’re trying to do in the Air Force,” Brown said in a 2020 interview with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “It’s — you almost have to manage some of this on purpose. You can’t allow it — if you do it by accident, we’re not going to change.”
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President Biden announces the appointment of Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the White House Rose Garden on May 25, 2023. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“I mean, I get so much out of it. I purposely build my office, my front office and my team with (diversity), and I hire people for diversity because they all have a different perspective,” Brown said.
Those comments, obtained by AAF and shared with Fox News digital, are one of many examples where Brown has expressed support for diversity-focused hiring in the military.
“The things I’m thinking about are not just having several, you know, lists of candidates for some key positions, but it’s also you have to select some of those individuals for those key positions,” Brown said earlier in the magazine. interview.
“You can’t just let it be coincidence that diversity brings in whether it’s race, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation or social background,” he said, explaining that the military “needs to identify different candidates and make sure that we take care of ourselves.” them for opportunities.”
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General Charles Q. Brown Jr. is currently the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. If confirmed by the Senate, Brown would be the second African-American man, after Colin Powell, to hold the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president’s top military adviser. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Brown made similar comments in a December 2020 virtual town hall posted to Facebook, emphasizing the need for diverse groups to have “opportunities to hold and compete in key positions” and that “there are aspects of which are on the recruited side, based on how we do their promotions as well.”
And in a January 2021 interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Brown said the Air Force works under his command to “make sure we have diverse candidates” on lists for panels and boards. “And the last thing I want to say about that is how we encourage and guide some of those diverse candidates because sometimes they feel like they’re not qualified to put their names in, and we really have to push and pull and actually we have purposely ensured that we have diverse candidates that can compete,” said Brown.
AAF President Tom Jones told Fox News Digital that there is no place for “diversity games” in the hiring and promotion of military personnel.
“The American people deserve to be defended by the best qualified soldiers, sailors and airmen in the world, selected on merit, not race. More importantly, our troops deserve to be led by officers who have the best are in their jobs. They deserve to put their lives in the hands of officers who are chosen for their skill and bravery, not their skin color,” Jones said. “General Brown’s obsession with hiring and promotions based on race is extremely disturbing.”
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Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr., President Biden’s nominee to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is seen with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on June 22, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)
Reached for comment, an Air Force spokesman said in a statement that the military branch “agrees that the American people deserve to be defended by the most highly qualified airmen in the world, selected through a merit-based system.” of performance.”
“General Brown’s comments reflect his and the Air Force’s commitment to providing everyone with the opportunity to serve and an environment where every member of our organization can reach their full potential – including serving in key positions and offices – so that our warfighters can benefit from the best talent and leadership our nation has to offer,” the spokesman wrote.
In early May, Biden announced his intention to elevate Brown to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calling him a “warfighter” with “unparalleled first-hand knowledge of our theaters of operations.”
When asked about AAF’s opposition to Brown, the White House referred to the president’s comments in support of Brown’s nomination.
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Retired Colonel Charles Q. Brown Sr. and Kay Brown pinned Air Force wings to the uniform of their son, 2nd Lieutenant Charles Q. Brown Jr., during his graduation as a pilot at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, circa 1986. (US Air Force)
“General Brown has earned a reputation within the Corps as an unflappable and highly effective leader; as someone who creates an environment of teamwork, trust and — and then outstanding performance; and someone who smokes a mean chest,” Biden said at the time.
A decorated F-16 fighter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours, Brown has gained bipartisan support as he rises through the ranks of the Air Force. Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, initially nominated Brown as Chief of Staff of the 22nd Air Force in March 2022. of military personnel.
Initial reports indicated that Brown is a by-the-book officer, referring to talking points during public appearances and speeches. Shortly after George Floyd’s death in 2020, however, Brown released an emotional video detailing his experience of racial prejudice in the military.
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Although Biden nominated Brown in May, his nomination has yet to be heard by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has blasted Biden’s Defense Department nominees for what he said was the Pentagon’s “illegal” policy of reimbursing abortion travel and giving paid time off to military or their relatives who choose to terminate a pregnancy. Brown is in that hold.
In a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Tuberville wrote that “our new national obsession with sexuality, race, and gender is self-centered rather than purpose, ability, or service.” If the Alabama Republican ever allows Brown’s nomination to go through, expect him and other GOP lawmakers to scrutinize Brown’s statements.
Kyle Morris, Adam Shaw and Houston Keene of Fox News contributed to this report.
Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
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