06.09.20

Hoeven Statement After Senate Confirms Brown as Air Force Chief of Staff

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed U.S. Air Force General Charles Brown as the Air Force Chief of Staff.

“General Brown is a strong Air Force leader with decades of experience,” said Hoeven. “We had a good conversation as part of his confirmation process about the vital missions in North Dakota. As chief of staff of the Air Force, he will be a valuable partner as we continue to advance important initiatives for the Grand Forks and Minot Air Force Bases and our Air Guard mission. We look forward to working with him in his new role as Air Force Chief of Staff.” 

As part of his confirmation process, Hoeven spoke with Brown last month to secure his support for the state’s defense priorities, including:

  • Updating nuclear forces, which is important for the dual nuclear missions at the Minot Air Force Base.
  • Continued development of UAS, including the intelligence-gathering and kinetic unmanned missions flown out of the state, including:
    • The Global Hawk mission at the Grand Forks Air Force Base.
    • The MQ-9 Reapers flown by the North Dakota Air National Guard at Hector Field in Fargo.

Prior to his confirmation, General Brown served as Commander, Pacific Air Forces and is dual-hatted as the Air Component Commander within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. He served in a variety of Air Force roles over 35 years, including command of a fighter squadron and an F-16 flight instructor. He was also deputy commander at U.S. Central Command.  

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