General Dan Caine
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff
John Daniel Caine was born in August 1968 in Elmira, New York. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Air Force ROTC. He completed the Eruo-NATO Jet Pilot Training Program and joined the New York Air National Guard in Syracuse. He availed himself of educational opportunities in the military, and later earned a master’s degree in air warfare from the American Military University.
Caine flew F-16s with various squadrons and became an instructor pilot and chief of weapons. He was among the pilots who protected Washington, D.C., after the attacks on September 11, 2001. Caine developed counter weapons and tactics and became head of operations at an Air National Guard Base test center in Tucson, Arizona. He later served in the White House Homeland Security Council. He then commanded the Joint Special Operation Task Force – Air Directorate in Iraq.
Caine also pursued entrepreneurial and investment opportunities during stints as a part-time Air National Guard member. He served as a special assistant to the secretary of agriculture during the response to Hurricane Katrina. He also served the Homeland Security Council as a policy director for counterterrorism. Caine co-founded a regional airline.
Caine was nominated to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump in March 2025. He was confirmed by the Senate, and assumed his position in April.
General Caine is a command pilot with more than 2,800 flying hours, including 100 combat hours in the F-16.
In the News…
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine is attending meetings at the NATO headquarters in Brussels with other top U.S. and European commanders. They are preparing for the leader summit scheduled for next month.
General Caine stated during his confirmation hearing last month, “Our nation faces an unprecedented rising global risk. Our adversaries are advancing, global nuclear threats are on the rise, and deterrence is paramount.”
The general said, “Our national defense requires urgent action and reform across the board,” adding that the U.S. needs to “create peace through overwhelming strength and if need be fight and win our nation’s wars.”
