Gen. Charles Q. Brown, commander of Pacific Air Forces, has been nominated to succeed the retiring Gen. David Goldfein as chief of staff at the U.S. Air Force.
The Air Force said Monday Brown, nicknamed “CQ,” will become the first African-American service chief if the Senate approves his nomination. Goldfein, a 2020 Wash100 awardee, is due to retire June 30 after four years as the Air Force’s highest-ranking uniformed officer.
If confirmed, Brown would devise priorities for the service, as well as oversee initiatives to train and equip 685K personnel. The branch would also expect him to help integrate and connect warfighting operations as part of multidomain data collection, analysis and sharing efforts across the U.S. military.
“His leadership will be instrumental as the service continues to focus on the capabilities and talent we need to implement the National Defense Strategy.” said Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett.
CQ served as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command for two years before he assumed his current assignment in July 2018.
The veteran combat pilot logged 2,900 flying hours with F-16 aircraft and 15 fixed- and rotary-wing planes.