The head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, whom the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny called his friend, will leave his post.
There is a planned rotation of the US military leadership. The heads of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff are appointed to four-year terms, with Mark Milley serving in this position since October 1, 2019. In his last telephone conversation with the Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, the American general has already introduced his successor to his Ukrainian colleague. It would be Charles Brown. What can Ukraine expect from such a rotation in the leadership of our main military ally?
Direct contact
Milli was one of the Western military commanders with whom Zaluzhny often interacted during the entire Russian invasion. As the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a June interview with The Washington Post, he and Millie can talk several times a week, such a conversation sometimes lasting how many hours. Zaluzhny admits that he can openly share his concerns with his American colleague: “We have an agreement that we are in contact 24/7. So sometimes I laugh and say, “If I don’t get 100,000 shells a week, 1,000 people will die.” Put yourself in my place,” said the Ukrainian general.
Millie leaves at a crucial moment, as Ukrainian forces continue their counteroffensive and aim to break the Russian defense line before winter sets in.
Now Zaluzhny will call 61-year-old General Charles Brown. Brown will become only the second African American to hold this position in US history (after Colin Powell).
A model military man
Charles Brown’s father was also a military man who achieved the rank of colonel during his 30 years of service in the US Army, and his paternal grandfather served in World War II in the Pacific Theater.
Brown Jr. received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas Tech University before beginning his military career. Subsequently, Charles Brown entered the United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, where he received his first lieutenant rank, and in 1994 he received a master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Florida).
Brown went on to rise from a professional F-16 fighter pilot and instructor to the position of Chief of Staff of the US Air Force. It is because of this appointment that in 2020 he was included in TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people on the planet – as the first African American to head a separate branch of the US military.
Brown has 2,900 hours of flight time, including 130 hours of combat missions, in more than 10 different types of American combat and training aircraft.
Role in the war
The leading American media are thinking about what legacy Mark Milley is leaving to his successor and whether Charles Brown will be able to cope with the need to maintain a constant flow of arms to Ukraine.
As chief military adviser to the US president, Milley weighed in on every major decision Washington made about Russia’s war against Ukraine, Politico recalled: from what weapons to send to Kiev to how best to organize training of Ukrainian forces. At the same time, he developed close relations with Valery Zaluzhny, as well as productive relations with the heads of defense departments around the world, and at the same time, effective relations with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Politico sources who have worked with Milley and Austin note a deep trust and understanding between the two—especially since there are no signs of a power struggle or career prospects between the two. Austin and Milley bring to life the Ramstein format, the monthly meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Today, Charles Brown will head the US Joint Chiefs of Staff at a decisive moment for Ukraine, Politico states, as he must find a balance between Europe, which is increasingly “war-weary,” and the worsening contradictions about on Ukraine’s aid to the United States. The publication recalls “a number of challenges” for Brown, including the arrival of winter, which will affect the conflict in Ukraine, the reluctance of some Republicans in the US House of Representatives to fund aid to Ukraine, as well the alarming signs about fatigue. apologies from Poland and similar hints about running out of opportunities for arms supplies from France.
Comparing Mark Milley and Charles Brown, Politico wrote that “the personalities of the two generals could not be more different: Milley is a brash former hockey player, and Brown is a quiet tactician who questions how change the dynamics of the war effort.”
NAgeda is there
Meanwhile, while both Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have at times been criticized for delays in the delivery of weapons, Ukrainian officials hope that Brown will advocate for the shipment of more sophisticated equipment. Citing the words of Ukrainian officials, Politico journalists noted that Kiev has a favorable impression on the new head of the committee, since Brown, as the top air force officer, is a consistent supporter of sending modern drones and F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.