Air Force Gen. Dan Caine was sworn in on Monday as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to press reports.
Caine, 56, was confirmed by the Senate in an early Friday vote of 60 to 25. He was nominated shortly after President Donald Trump removed former chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown in February.
A 1990 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Caine served in the Air National Guard as an F-16 pilot who flew combat air patrols over Washington, D.C., after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Caine was part of an international effort to find Iraqi Scud ballistic missiles and served again in Iraq in 2008 and 2016. He served as the CIA’s associate director for military affairs and retired from active duty service last year before his nomination. Caine also had a career in private business.
Caine was brought back to active service, promoted to a four-star general, and given a waiver to serve in the position by President Trump. Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the Joint Chiefs Chair is required to have previously been a four-star service chief or combatant commander. However, the president can waive the requirement under a “national interest” clause in the law.
During his confirmation hearing earlier this month before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Caine vowed to be apolitical in his role.
“I think it starts with being a good example from the top and making sure that we are nonpartisan and apolitical and speaking the truth to power every day,” he said.
During the hearing, he called for defense acquisition reform to speed up how the Pentagon buys weapons.
“We’ve got to have everyone weighing in, small businesses, new entrants and even the primes, the ability to bring advanced technologies from new companies, startups into the joint force and make it easier for them to bring their products and services into the military,” he said.
“[It’s] something that I’m passionate about.”
The Associated Press reported Caine would have a formal swearing in at the White House later this week.
