French gen. to replace Mattis at NATO command - Marine Corps News, news from Afghanistan - Marine Corps Times

French gen. to replace Mattis at NATO command

NATO says Gen. Stephane Abrial of the French air force will replace Gen. James Mattis as NATO’s commander in charge of military modernization.

Abrial will take over a key alliance command in Norfolk, Va., in charge of transforming the Europe-centered Cold War alliance to handle the global challenges it faces today.

Mattis will continue to serve as the commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, a position he has held since 2007. He was nominated for reappointment to the position by President Obama on July 28, according to a Defense Department news release.

Abrial is the second French general to assume a top NATO command since Paris formally rejoined the alliance in April. Earlier this month, Gen. Philippe Stoltz took charge of NATO’s rapid reaction force headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal.

French President Charles de Gaulle pulled his country out of the NATO command in 1966. France remained a NATO member but stayed outside the alliance’s decision-making core.