US President Joe Biden will soon announce that he has chosen Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown Jr. to be the nation's top military officer.
This was reported to The New York Times by two American officials.
If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, General Brown will succeed General Mark Milley, whose term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff expires at the end of September.
General Brown will become only the second black person to hold the position, after Colin Powell, who held the position during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
General Brown's appointment and confirmation will also mean that, along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the two top Pentagon leadership positions will be held by African Americans for the first time in American history. It would be a unique move for the black armed forces, which have long been dominated by white men.
General Brown and Austin will advise Biden on national security issues, from the war in Ukraine to China's military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
It is not yet clear when Biden will announce Brown's selection. But the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Brown, a fighter pilot, beat out his closest competitor, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger.
Brown commanded U.S. forces in the Middle East as head of U.S. Air Force Central Command and served in Europe when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 as director of strategic deterrence operations and nuclear integration for U.S. Air Force Europe.
In August 2020, the US Senate unanimously confirmed him as Air Force Chief of Staff.