Marine general nominated to second term as vice chairman of joint chiefs

WASHINGTON (AFP) Jun 20, 2003
President George W. Bush nominated Marine Corps General Peter Pace to a second two-year term as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and named an army general to lead the US Special Operations Command, the Pentagon said Friday.

The nominations were among a group of high-level military promotions and reassignments announced in the wake of the war in Iraq.

Bush already has nominated a new army secretary, army chief of staff, and commander of the US Central Command to replace General Tommy Franks, who is scheduled to retire early next month.

The Senate must approve the nominations.

Pace's nomination to a second term means US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will have continuity in the top military leadership as he moves around generals who will have to carry out his plans for transforming the military.

Army Lieutenant General Bryan Brown was nominated to command the US Special Operations Command which Rumsfeld has assigned a leading role in a campaign against weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism.

Brown is currently deputy commander of the Tampa-base Special Operations Command.

Army Major General William Boykin, who served as commanding general of the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and the post of deputy under secretary of defense for intelligence.

Army Lieutenant General Dan McNeill, who led US forces in Afghanistan, was nominated to the post of deputy commanding general of the US Army Forces Command in Fort McPherson, Georgia.

WAR.WIRE