America is about to welcome a new top general. The Senate confirmed U.S. Air Force Chief General Charles Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday. He’s set to replace Mark Milley as the highest-ranking military officer in the United States.
Gen. Brown used to be an Air Component Commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Brown didn’t specifically outline a stance on China during his confirmation hearing in July. However, he did answer lawmakers’ questions about cyber threats from China and he touched on the challenges of fighting a war in the Indo-Pacific versus Europe.
He raised red flags on an issue troubling the U.S. military. In a letter to American airmen, Brown warned that Beijing is looking to exploit their knowledge to fill gaps in its own development by targeting and recruiting U.S. and NATO military talent to train Chinese troops.
This problem has spread beyond the U.S. military. Other members of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance—including Australia, the UK, and New Zealand—have taken steps to prevent former pilots from handing over know-how to Beijing.
Last year, the UK said up to thirty former British pilots were providing training in China. A month later, Australia said it was conducting a review because of reports of Australian pilots doing training in China. A former U.S. fighter pilot has also been indicted over allegations he trained Chinese pilots on how to land on aircraft carriers. He denied the allegations.