{"id":2574005,"date":"2026-02-26T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/retired-air-force-major-charged-for-allegedly-training-chinese-military-pilots\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:39:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:39:51","slug":"retired-air-force-major-charged-for-allegedly-training-chinese-military-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/retired-air-force-major-charged-for-allegedly-training-chinese-military-pilots\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired Air Force Major Charged for Allegedly Training Chinese Military Pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fretired-air-force-major-charged-for-allegedly-training-chinese-military-pilots%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2574005&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A retired U.S. Air Force officer, Maj. Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, has been charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act for allegedly helping China train its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-police-identify-calif-woman-killed-during-demonstration\/\" title=\"D.C. Police identify Calif. woman killed during demonstration\">air force<\/a>. He was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, after authorities say he began working with Chinese pilots in 2023 and traveled to China in December of that year to start training. The Department of Justice and FBI officials say training a foreign military without a license is illegal and emphasize that thay will use all tools to protect U.S. military advantages. The case notes Brown\u2019s extensive background as a U.S. Air Force officer and F-35 instructor, and places it in the context of previous prosecutions of former service members who assisted China.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A retired U.S. Air Force officer has been charged after allegedly teaching Chinese combat pilots the tricks of the trade.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Maj. Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, on Wednesday, according to a Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/former-us-air-force-pilot-arrested-providing-defense-services-chinese-military\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act by allegedly helping China train its air force.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots,&rdquo; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When U.S. persons &mdash; whether military or civilian &mdash; provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the AECA,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI&rsquo;s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said that Brown &ldquo;allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China&rsquo;s military capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries to harm our service members and jeopardize our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-it-newsmax-reporter-emerald-robinson-national-security-source-confirms-a-piece-of-hardware-has-been-secured-in-germany\/\" title=\"We Got It! - Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson: National Security Source Confirms &quot;A Piece of Hardware Has Been Secured&quot; in Germany\">national security<\/a>,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#128680;&#127482;&#127480;&#127464;&#127475; Former Air Force Major Gerald &ldquo;Runner&rdquo; Brown arrested for training Chinese military pilots without authorization.<\/p>\n<p>Brown was an F-35 instructor pilot with 24 years of experience flying F-4s, F-15s, F-16s, and A-10s.<\/p>\n<p>He traveled to China in 2023 and spent his first day&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1da9dhZRBM\">pic.twitter.com\/1da9dhZRBM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarioNawfal\/status\/2026839606251983095?\">February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The release said Brown&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >experience including training pilots<\/a> in flying the F-35 fighter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic, he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,&rdquo; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions. The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs &mdash; here in America,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint said Brown, who left active duty in 1996 after 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, was an instructor in the Air Force and also for defense contractors.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint said Brown began working with the Chinese in August 2023 and went to China in December of that year to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/putin-says-russia-will-station-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus\/\" title=\"Putin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus\">begin training pilots<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He remained there until this month, when he returned to the U.S. and was arrested.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint linked Brown to Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pled guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors and steal data for China.<\/p>\n<p>Brown made no secret of his intent to train Chinese fighter pilots, the complaint said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Providing U.S. military training to our adversaries represents a significant threat to national security,&rdquo; Lee M. Russ, executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects, said.<\/p>\n<p>The release noted that Brown is not the first former U.S. service member charged with helping China. Former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan was charged with a similar crime in 2017. Duggan was arrested in Australia in 2022 and is being held there until he can be extradited to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>The release quoted Gen. James B. Hecker, former commander of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, as saying in 2025: &ldquo;Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the core news content:<\/p>\n<p>A former U.S. Air Force officer, Major Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act for allegedly helping the Chinese military train its pilots. The Department of Justice stated that Brown, who trained as an elite fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, is accused of providing training to a foreign military without the required license from the State Department. Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg stressed that U.S. persons may not train foreign militaries legally unless properly licensed, and the FBI will use all tools to protect national security.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI said Brown left active duty in 1996 after 24 years and had worked as an Air Force instructor and for defense contractors. The complaint alleges he began working with the Chinese in August 2023 and traveled to China in December 2023 to start training pilots, remaining there until his arrest this month. Brown\u2019s activities are linked to Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who pled guilty in 2016 to hacking U.S. defense contractors to steal data for China. Brown reportedly openly intended to train Chinese fighter pilots, a fact described by officials as a significant national-security threat.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Brown betrayed his oath by aiding China and emphasized that the Department of Justice will hold him and any co-conspirators accountable. Lee M. Russ, executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, also commented that providing U.S. military training to adversaries jeopardizes service members and national security.<\/p>\n<p>The release notes that Brown is not the first former U.S. service member charged with assisting China; another case involved former Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan, charged in 2017 and extradited to Australia in 2022 for detention there. Gen. James B. Hecker, a former NATO and U.S. Air Forces leader, has been quoted in the past stressing that once you serve in the U.S. military, you retain a responsibility to protect U.S. tactics and procedures even after retirement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2574006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-26T134911.997.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[74661,4035,4501,4505,4014],"class_list":["post-2574005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-air-force-2","tag-charges","tag-china","tag-military","tag-retired"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-26T134911.997.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574005"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574009,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574005\/revisions\/2574009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}