WASHINGTON \u2014 The Biden administration\u2019s pick for the top U.S. military post said an Alabama senator\u2019s decision to block hundreds of officer promotions is hurting the Pentagon\u2019s ability to hold on to talent and jeopardizes readiness.<\/p>\n
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said military families have to weigh the desire to serve against the uncertainty caused by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2019s refusal to allow the promotions to proceed swiftly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have more junior officers who now look up and say, \u2018If that\u2019s the challenge I\u2019m going to have to deal with in the future, I\u2019m going to balance between my family and serving in a senior position,\u2019\u201d Brown told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. \u201cAnd we will lose talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuberville is using Senate rules to stand in the way of what is normally routine Senate confirmation for military officer promotions. As of last week, that\u2019s kept 265 nominees \u2014 about 31% of the high-ranking officer corps \u2014 from moving up. Because of Tuberville\u2019s holds, the Marine Corps finds itself with an acting Commandant for the first time in more than 100 years. Gen. David Berger retires Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Tuberville didn\u2019t make any reference to his holds when he questioned Brown at Tuesday\u2019s hearing. He\u2019s said in the past he\u2019ll stop his delays only if the Pentagon rescinds a policy, announced last year, of paying for service members to travel to obtain abortions following the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n
After the hearing, Tuberville told Bloomberg News that Brown was a qualified candidate and did \u201cvery well\u201d answering questions. Tuberville said he would vote in favor of Brown if his nomination comes to a formal vote but gave no indication he\u2019ll stop blocking the other promotions.<\/p>\n
If confirmed, Brown, who currently serves as Air Force chief of staff, would replace Gen. Mark Milley as the U.S.\u2019s most senior military officer. His appointment comes as the U.S. continues to arm Ukraine in a bloody war of attrition against Russia and as Washington finds itself locked in an intense competition with China. <\/p>\n
Brown said that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine had provided valuable lessons for the U.S. military. Those lessons, he said, include the importance of information in warfare; the crucial role of morale and the \u201cwill to fight;\u201d and the benefits of integrated air defense. The conflict has also highlighted the value of logistics, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Russians learned, if you don\u2019t pay attention to the logistics, it\u2019s hard to win and hard to move forward,\u201d Brown said. <\/p>\n
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