by
Department of Defense General Counsel Martin Hoffman at The Pentagon on July 1, 1974. In 1974, following Admiral
Thomas Moorer's scheduled retirement as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brown was tapped by President
Richard Nixon and Secretary of Defense
James Schlesinger to succeed Moorer as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Many, including former Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara whom Brown once worked with as his military assistant, had previously predicted that Brown would someday be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to General
Robert J. Dixon, a protégé of
Air Force Chief of Staff General
Thomas D. White, when White was lying ill in the hospital due to terminal leukemia in 1964, General White told General Dixon to congratulate George S. Brown on behalf of General White if someday Brown became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This prophecy was proven true ten years later and was retold in Brown's biography "Destined for Stars" by Edgar F. Puryear Jr. George S. Brown was sworn in as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Department of Defense General Counsel Martin Hoffman in a ceremony held in
the Pentagon on July 1, 1974, which was attended by Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and President Richard Nixon. In this capacity, Brown was the highest-ranking and most senior military officer within the United States Armed Forces, and was also the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Brown also become the first Air Force general to hold the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following the 14-year hiatus since General
Nathan F. Twining retired as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on August 15, 1960. However, not long after Brown assuming the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff position, President
Richard Nixon who appointed Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had to resign from the presidency due to the
Watergate scandal and was succeeded by his Vice President
Gerald Ford, who assumed the presidency following Nixon's resignation. Brown attended Nixon's departure at the White House Lawn on August 9, 1974, as well as Gerald Ford's inauguration ceremony as president. As chairman, Brown was responsible for handling notable international events, such as the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and the
Mayaguez incident, the final act of the war in Vietnam in 1975. He also dealt with the 1976 shootings and
Axe Murder Incident in the
Korean Demilitarized Zone, and oversaw the
Panama Canal Treaty in 1977. General George S. Brown and
United States Air Force Chief of Staff General
David C. Jones at
The White House, in 1977.One of Brown's primary duties as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the recasting and reshaping of the leadership within the Joint Chiefs. One of Brown's primary actions in reshaping the leadership within the Joint Chiefs was eliminating the J-2, which was basically responsible for communications function, and combining it with the J-3 operations. Brown also gave a chance to his fellow Joint Chiefs of Staff members such as the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Army Chief of Staff to handle crisis situations, in order to prepare them in case they were chosen to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One notable case is during the
Mayaguez incident, in which at that time Brown was on official foreign trips to attend NATO summit in Europe, during which Brown allowed Air Force Chief of Staff General David C. Jones to act as the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to lead the discussion within the National Security Council on the military planning and military matters to execute the operations to save the crew of
SS Mayaguez. Subsequently, Jones later was appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding Brown in 1978. Jones' experience as acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the
Mayaguez incident led to his effort to modernize the scope of the military to improve its relations with the civilian leadership, and that eventually led to the Military Reform act in 1986 that was famously known as the Goldwater–Nichols Act. Brown also asserted the importance of military modernization following the Vietnam War and the need to prepare for modern challenges, including the modernization of the Air Force aircraft fleet and continuing Brown's policy during his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff. Brown described the Soviet Union as a "clear and present danger" and believed that the USSR was building up its military arsenal. Brown also asserted that in order to prepare for worst-case scenarios such as "First Strike," the United States must therefore be ready at any time for any event, to deter whichever worst-case situation might occur in the future. As part of this focus, Brown continued his effort to build up the Strategic Air Command nuclear triad arsenal that he had started during his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff, and emphasized the need for both a new and modern bomber aircraft such as the B-1B Strategic Bomber Aircraft as well as the new MX intercontinental ballistic missile. Together with Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, Brown began the study and development of a new and sophisticated weapon to deter any possible future threat. .|alt=|leftHowever following the new Détente policy that was adopted in the early 1970s, Brown focused on how to ensure the United States Military was in robust shape and perpetually combat-ready while still following the Détente policy. Part of the Détente policy was the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks treaty, also known as the SALT treaty, which had already started in 1972, two years before Brown assumed the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Working together with Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, Brown re-asserted that although both the United States and Soviet Union had signed the SALT treaty and were mutually practicing Détente, that the US should remain ready at any time to prevent any event that could catalyze a major crisis and concomitant escalation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In November 1975, following
James Schlesinger's retirement as Secretary of Defense and replacement by Donald Rumsfeld, Brown worked together with Rumsfeld to re-assert United States policy on military buildup and détente. Both Rumsfeld and Brown agreed to work to speed up the B-1B bomber program in order to make those aircraft ready for service within the United States Air Force as soon as possible. Together with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Brown tested the B-1B Aircraft on a flight-test in 1975. Another point of agreement between Brown and Rumsfeld was the new Fighter Aircraft program to modernize Air Force Tactical-Fighter Aircraft, and to replace some Air Force aircraft considered obsolete. As a result, the Air Force finally received the new tactical fighter aircraft, F-15s and F-16s, although the program has been studied during Brown's tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff along with Air Force Secretary
Robert Seamans. General George S. Brown with
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld during testimony at
Senate Armed Services Committee on January 15, 1976. General George S. Brown with
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and
National Security Advisor Lieutenant General
Brent Scowcroft and
CIA Director George H.W. Bush at
The Oval Office,
White House on March 11, 1976. Following the SALT I Treaty Talk in 1972, the Ford administration which continued the Nixon Administration Détente policy began the SALT II Treaty Talk. Ford tried to had the SALT II Treaty talk before the 1976 presidential election and ask the Defense Department to immediately come-up with the important point for the SALT II Treaty. Together with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Brown worked together to develop the important point for SALT II Treaty. However the SALT II Treaty important points doesn't come up due to several disagreements and failed to meet its deadline before the 1976 election. The treaty was eventually signed in 1979 during the Carter administration. Brown had a reputation for speaking frankly and forthright, as indicated by some of his statements getting heavily criticized during his term as chairman. The event happened when Brown commented on two occasions—firstly to a
Duke University audience in October 1974, and then to a French reporter in 1976—that
Israel was becoming a burden to
the Pentagon and that he believed the reason for continued military aid was due to Jews having control over America's banks, newspapers and elected officials. His exact words were: Brown's comments at Duke and subsequent reprimand by President
Gerald Ford were reported on the front page of
The Washington Post on 13 and 14 November 1974. There was speculation that Brown would be asked to resign, or at least not be nominated for a second two-year term; but he was re-nominated and went on to serve under the new president,
Jimmy Carter. In April 1976 during an interview with
Ranan Lurie, a cartoonist for
Newsweek, Brown was asked to comment on his opinion of the
British Armed Forces, Brown replied, "They're no longer a world power. All they've got are generals, admirals and bands." Reaction in Britain was mixed. Some, like
Lord Allenby condemned Brown's remarks, while others, like
Lord Monckton acknowledged the truth of the remarks.
Evacuation of Saigon listen to a briefing on the
evacuation of Saigon, 28 April 1975|alt=|left One of the most important events during Brown's tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the
evacuation of Saigon after
North Vietnamese troops defeated
South Vietnamese troops in battles fought during the
1975 Spring Offensive, occupied many South Vietnamese cities and marched towards Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam. Brown advised the National Security Council by the end of March 1975 that the United States should immediately begin the evacuation of American citizens that were still left in Saigon and other South Vietnam cities. Brown eventually oversaw the military operations to evacuate U.S. citizens in Saigon. He organized the military's
tactical airlift aircraft in coordination with Air Force Chief of Staff General
David C. Jones to evacuate American citizens out of Saigon as soon as possible. The operations also used several commercial aircraft to accelerate the evacuation. The operations were focused on
Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon, which was the only
primary airport left in South Vietnam following
Da Nang's fall to the
North Vietnamese Army. One of Brown's messages to all military personnel involved in the operations was a message to not leave anyone behind. However, on 28 April 1975, Tan Son Nhat Airport came under heavy artillery fire and an attack from the
North Vietnamese Air Force that eventually crippled the airport. Brown therefore briefed President Gerald Ford, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and the National Security Council on how to continue the evacuation following the attack on Tan Son Nhat Airport; his briefing took into account that there were no airports that were still under South Vietnamese jurisdiction. Brown and the Joint Chiefs of Staff came up with the idea of an evacuation that primarily involved helicopters. As a result,
Operation Frequent Wind was initiated from 29 April to 30 April 1975. The operation managed to evacuate many people out of Saigon by flying them via helicopters to a nearby United States aircraft carrier in the
South China Sea. A
CIA-operated airline,
Air America, was also involved in Operation Frequent Wind and deployed much of their
Huey helicopter fleet. The operation ended on the morning of 30 April 1975 following the evacuation of U.S. Ambassador
Graham Martin and the last
U.S. Marines in Saigon.
Carter Administration General George S. Brown accompanied
President-Elect Jimmy Carter during a tour to
The Pentagon along with
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the other members of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff on 17 December 1976. Following Gerald Ford's defeat in the 1976 Presidential election and Jimmy Carter assuming the presidency on 20 January 1977, Brown remained to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Carter. Before Carter assumed the Presidency, Brown and Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld briefed the incoming Carter administration National Security team, including the new Secretary of Defense,
Harold Brown, about initiatives that had been taken during Ford administration and would continue under Carter administration, such as the
SALT II treaty talks. Brown and Rumsfeld also gave Carter and his incoming National Security team a tour of The Pentagon in December 1976. They worked together on a military policy, especially the incoming SALT II Treaty and the continuation of Détente policy. However, there were some differences on military matters between Ford and Carter administrations, with which Brown disagreed, such as Carter's campaign pledge to make the Pentagon more efficient, which led to the cancellation of some of important military modernization programs. As a result, the
B-1B Program, which Brown is strongly supported, was cancelled. Brown also strongly opposed Carter's decision to withdraw the United States Military from South Korea in May 1977. But at some point Carter and Harold Brown did agree with Brown about the important role of Strategic Air Command as the nation's primary nuclear deterrent. change of command ceremony in
Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska on 8 January 1977.|alt= During the Carter administration, talks began with the government of Panama handover the Panama Canal that led to the Panama Canal Treaty. On 26 September 1977, Brown gave a testimony to the House Committee on International Relations regarding his opinion of the treaty. His remarks stressed the importance of United States use of the canal instead of ownership. He emphasized that the United States military must have access to the canal, both in war and in peace time and that its security must be continually assured. Brown saw that the capability to defend the Panama Canal in order for it not to fall into the wrong hands was dependent on cooperation between the United States and Panama. Brown remained in Carter administration for a year, from 20 January 1977 to 20 June 1978. During his last term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he continued to advise the Carter Administration about the importance of the United States military arsenal modernization, and the buildup of its deterrence against potential threats, even as the Carter administration stressed Pentagon budget reduction. Many of his colleagues on the Department of Defense and the Joint Staff praised his leadership, including Rumsfeld, who praised Brown as one of the most brilliant and smartest man he ever worked with. == Retirement ==