Top US military officer General Mark Milley to hand over reins after 4 years
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Retiring Gen Milley (left) greets incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – General Mark Milley stepped down on Friday after a tumultuous term as the top US military officer that saw him face repeated crises at home and abroad.
His four-year tenure saw successes like the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and helping Ukraine to defend against Russia’s invasion, but also included the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and a rocky relationship with former president Donald Trump.
As chairman, “it was one crisis right after another”, Gen Milley told Agence France-Presse in August.
Gen Milley will hand over command to Air Force chief General Charles Brown, who will be only the second Black officer to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after General Colin Powell two decades ago.
Gen Milley took the reins in 2019 after being nominated by Trump, but soon found himself having to balance the need to maintain his relationship with the former president without appearing to be political.
In 2020, he publicly apologised for joining Trump as he walked from the White House to a nearby church for a photo opportunity after the authorities cleared the way of protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Gen Milley is credited by his supporters with helping protect the country from Trump, but has been the target of intense criticism from the former president and his adherents.
His departure comes at a time when the US military – particularly its leadership – has been under repeated fire from conservative politicians and pundits, especially over the alleged imposition of “woke” policies on the armed forces.
Gen Milley said on Wednesday he would take measures to protect his family after Trump suggested he colluded with China in an act he said would have once warranted death.
Gen Brown is a self-described introvert, whose public persona contrasts sharply with the outgoing Gen Milley, a loquacious Boston native.
When Gen Brown, a former fighter pilot with experience in the Pacific, takes command, Black Americans will hold the top two positions at the Pentagon for the first time, a major milestone for an institution that is diverse in its lower ranks but largely white and male at the top.
The move follows President Joe Biden’s appointment of Mr Lloyd Austin to become the first Black US secretary of defence, the top civilian position at the Pentagon. REUTERS, AFP
