WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Gen. Charles Brown Jr. as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, making him the first black officer to lead one of the nation’s military services.
“I’m thinking about my Air Force career where I was often the only African American in my squadron or, as a senior officer, the only African American in the room,” he said in a raw tone.
The military, with African Americans making up a little over 17% of its active-duty ranks, is more racially diverse than the country, which is 13% African American, according to 2019 Census estimates.
But there is a much greater racial divide within the active-duty military based on rank.
Nineteen percent of active-duty enlisted troops are black, but they make up only 9% of the officer corps.
