President Barack Obama has chosen Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. to be the next chairman of the Joi
(5 May 2015) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus030700 President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated a respected, combat hardened commander as his next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to lead the military during a key period of transition. Obama chose Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. to succeed Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, who has served four years as chairman. "I know Joe, I trust him," Obama said in a White House Rose Garden statement. "He has already proven his ability to give me his unvarnished military advice based on his experience on the ground." Dunford's selection signals that even as the U.S. puts more focus on Asia and looks ahead to high-tech cyber and space threats, the administration still believes a strong ground force commander is needed to work through the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and across the Middle East and Africa. Obama emphasized Dunford's role in moving the U.S. to the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. "Under his steady hand we've achieved key milestones, including the transition to Afghan responsibility for security, historic Afghan elections and the drawdown of U.S. forces," Obama said. Obama praised Dunford as "one of our military's most highly regarded strategic thinkers" and described his work ethic as tireless, noting that some aides have been known to carry a voice recorder to keep track of his commands and ideas. Dunford's service as the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps will be cut short - he began that job last October. But the rapid promotion is one of several that have marked Dunford's fast-tracked military career, which saw him leap from a one-star general to four stars in about three years. Obama also tapped Gen. Paul J. Selva, a top Air Force officer and pilot, to serve as vice chairman. Selva, who has clocked more than 3,100 hours piloting transport and refueling aircraft, is currently the head of U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. The 59-year-old Dunford is a Boston native and holds master's degrees in government from Georgetown University and international relations from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is expected to be easily confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ca8639da71055031a55ffa33ec1c048e
