Charles Flynn, the Army general dogged by controversy involving his conspiracy theorist older brother Michael Flynn, received his fourth star Friday and assumed command of the 90,000 soldiers and civilians who are part of U.S. Army Pacific, with headquarters at Fort Shafter.

He takes over Pacific operations at a time when the Army is in the throes of change necessary to counter a rapidly rising China, some of the long-range missile capability the land force wants to sink ships at sea puts it in contention with the Air Force, and its fiscal 2022 budget request of $173 billion is $3.6 billion less than enacted in fiscal 2021.

At a livestreamed outdoor ceremony at Fort Shafter, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville lauded “two outstanding leaders”: Gen. Paul LaCamera, the most recent U.S. Army Pacific leader, who will head up U.S. Forces Korea, and Flynn, who is returning to the region for the third time.

“You’ve been able to maintain readiness to fight tonight while maintaining the momentum as we undergo the most consequential transformation of our Army in the last 40 years in the most critical region of the world,” McConville said of LaCamera.

McConville said in a March 16 report that the Army “faces an inflection point that requires innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.”

“Although our Army still maintains overmatch, it is fleeting” in the face of determined adversaries and accelerating technological advances, he said.

Adm. John Aquilino, who commands U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Oahu, noted that Flynn was a 25th Infantry Division commander and U.S. Army Pacific deputy commander, so “you’ve learned the challenges we face in this theater, and you certainly understand what awaits you.”

“U.S. Army Pacific is a vital part of our approach to generate a lethal, combined, joint force distributed west of the international dateline that can be protected, sustained and capable of fully integrating with all of our allies and partners,” Aquilino said.

The “combined” and “joint” references mean the Army has to continue to nurture good relations with other nations’ militaries, mainly through exercises, and work closely with other U.S. armed forces.

“The good news is that the Army has already begun to transform to address these challenges,” Flynn said in his remarks. He noted that Pacific Pathways pushes large groups of soldiers west of the international dateline for extended training.

More recent innovations include security force assistance brigades working with Asian nations and multidomain task forces that will have the ability to rapidly deploy to islands in the western Pacific with missile defensive and offensive capabilities.

“We’ll soon begin incorporating long-range precision fires, integrated air-missile defense and calibrating our force posture to a more agile, dynamic” construct with Army pre-positioned stocks that can better sustain the force, he said.

Flynn led the 25th Division at Schofield from 2014 to 2016. He was a deputy commanding general with U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter 2016 to 2018.

Former Donald Trump national security adviser and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn — Charles Flynn’s older brother, who also served at one time at Schofield Barracks — was in the news again after suggesting at a Dallas rally Sunday that he was in favor of a Myanmar-style coup in the U.S. Michael Flynn later denied taking that stand.

Flynn said in December that Trump could declare martial law and “rerun” elections in certain states. In 2017 he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about communication with a Russian diplomat. Trump pardoned him in November.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform found that Flynn was paid more than $45,000 by Russia Today to attend a 2015 gala in Moscow during which he sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The relationship to his brother created controversy for Charles Flynn, who as the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training was with other officials when a tense call was made in response to rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 seeking immediate intervention by the National Guard, according to The Washington Post.

Flynn found the need to defend himself following his brother’s actions and words.

The Army had denied for days that Flynn was even involved in the conference call before Flynn admitted he was in fact present for part of it, the Post reported.

Flynn categorically rejected any notion that his relationship with his brother affected his role in deliberations over the military response to the rioting.