WASHINGTON -- In a tweet this morning, President Donald J. Trump indicated he will nominate Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
If confirmed by the Senate, Milley would succeed Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, who has served in the position since September 2015. Dunford will step down in September 2019. Milley would be the 20th man to hold the position since General of the Army Omar N. Bradley in 1949.
“I am thankful to both these incredible men for their service to our country,” Trump tweeted.
The top military position serves to provide military advice to the president, defense secretary and the other members of the National Security Council.
Milley was confirmed as Army chief of staff in August 2015, succeeding Gen. Ray Odierno.
He received his commission in 1980 after completing ROTC at Princeton University, New Jersey. He has two awards of the Combat Infantry Badge and wears both Ranger and Special Forces tabs. Prior to being the Army chief of staff, Milley served as the commander U.S. Army Forces Command. Before that he commanded III Corps, which formed the nucleus of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Kabul, Afghanistan.
He has commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group. He served in a number of other units to include the 10th Mountain Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 25th Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division.
He has deployed a number of times to the Sinai Peninsula, Panama for Operation Just Cause, Somalia, Colombia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to retire in the summer.