Pentagon picks Mattis to take over CENTCOM - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Pentagon picks Mattis to take over CENTCOM

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis has been recommended by the Defense Department to lead U.S. Central Command.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed his choice Thursday, during a news briefing with military reporters at the Pentagon.

“The post General Mattis is taking is a critical one at a critical time,” Gates said, adding that he considers it “essential to have a confirmed, full-time commander in place at CENTCOM as quickly as possible, as we confront the challenges posed by the ongoing operations in Afghanistan, our troop withdrawal in Iraq, and Iran’s nuclear program, as well as the threat represented by militant and terrorist groups throughout the region.”

Deputy commanding general Lt. Gen. John Allen, who is currently CENTCOM acting commander, will remain in his position as deputy commander, marking the first time that Marines occupy the command’s top two spots.

Mattis and Allen were named on the heels of the Senate’s June 30 confirmation of Army Gen. David Petraeus as the new Afghanistan war commander, ending his tenure as CENTCOM chief.

Mattis, who will soon hand his post as commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command to Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, was expected to retire following that transfer of authority.

Instead, he will replace Petraeus, who was reassigned by the White House in the wake of Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s resignation as the Afghanistan war commander. McChrystal resigned following controversial remarks he and his staff made in a Rolling Stone magazine article.

CENTCOM is a unified combatant command with responsibility for maintaining relationships, supporting development and assisting with security in more than 20 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The last Marine to head CENTCOM, a four-star command, was Gen. Anthony Zinni, who held the position from 1997 to 2000.

Before his tenure at Joint Forces Command, Mattis led NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation from 2007-09. He has also commanded 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and U.S. Marine Forces Central Command.

For more on this story, see next week’s issue of Marine Corps Times.

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