{"id":29883,"date":"2018-12-08T16:45:58","date_gmt":"2018-12-08T16:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/08\/trump-picks-army-gen-mark-milley-as-next-top-military-adviser\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:51:25","slug":"trump-picks-army-gen-mark-milley-as-next-top-military-adviser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2018\/12\/08\/trump-picks-army-gen-mark-milley-as-next-top-military-adviser\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump picks Army Chief Gen. Mark Milley as next top military adviser"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Milley will be named by President Trump as his pick to succeed Marine Gen. Joe Dunford as chairman during the annual Army\/Navy game.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> announced Saturday that he\u2019s picked a battle-hardened commander who oversaw troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to be the nation\u2019s next top military adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If confirmed by the Senate, Gen. Mark Milley<\/a>, who has been chief of the Army <\/a>since August 2015, would succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford<\/a> as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunford\u2019s term<\/a> doesn\u2019t end until Oct. 1, and Milley\u2019s tenure as Army chief of staff is supposed to run through August 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump said the date of transition is \u201cto be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump used an early morning tweet to reveal his choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our Country!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunford is a former commandant of the Marine Corps and commander of coalition troops in Afghanistan. Milley commanded <\/a>troops during several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunford\u2019s spokesman, Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, said all indications are that Dunford will serve his full term. Ryder referred other questions to the White House. He said Dunford congratulated Milley on his nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has served with Gen. Milley in peacetime and in combat and has the highest regard for his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said, “we are aware of the president\u2019s nomination and share his confidence for Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense remains fully focused on defending our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that Milley was “a battle-tested commander and Pentagon reformer who will be a worthy successor” to Dunford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s decision, announced before leaving Washington for the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, had caught some in the Pentagon by surprise when unofficial word spread Friday after he said a succession announcement was coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally an announcement on a new chairman wouldn’t be expected until early next year. Officials had said the Air Force chief, Gen. David Goldfein, was also a strong contender for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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US President Donald Trump, with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, stand during the singing of the National Anthem during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on May 28, 2018. (Jim Watson\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Milley is known as a charismatic, outgoing leader <\/a>who has not been afraid to offer candid and sometimes blunt assessments to Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year he admonished the House Armed Services Committee for its inability to approve a defense budget, slamming it as \u201cprofessional malpractice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, he told lawmakers, in answer to a direct question, that women should also have to register for the draft now that they are allowed to serve in all combat jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Army’s top leader, he helped shepherd the groundbreaking move of women into front-line infantry and other combat positions, while warning that it would take time to do it right. More recently, he has worked with his senior officers to reverse a shortfall in Army recruiting when the service fell far short of its annual goal this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\t