The Morning Call

Officials: Army’s Milley the pick to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff

- By Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will tap Gen. Mark Milley as his next top military adviser, choosing a battle-hardened commander who has served as chief of the Army for the last three years, U.S. officials said Friday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Milley would succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the pinnacle of a military career.

Dunford, a former commandant of the Marine Corps and commander of coalition troops in Afghanista­n, is expected to serve out his term as Joint Chiefs chairman, which ends next Oct. 1.

Milley, who commanded troops during several tours in Iraq and Afghanista­n, has served as the Army’s top officer since August 2015. Several officials confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

Trump is expected to announce his decision Saturday at the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelph­ia.

The decision caught some in the Pentagon by surprise Friday, since normally an announceme­nt on a new chairman wouldn’t be expected until early next year. The officials said the Air Force chief, Gen. David Goldfein, was also a strong contender for the job, but they indicated that Milley has a good relationsh­ip with the president.

Trump hinted earlier Friday that he would make an announceme­nt Saturday, when he attends the game and is expected to perform the coin toss.

“I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession,” he said.

Milley is known as a charismati­c, outgoing leader who has not been afraid to offer candid and sometimes blunt assessment­s to Congress. Last year he admonished the House Armed Services Committee for its inability to approve a defense budget, slamming it as “profession­al malpractic­e.”

In 2016, he told lawmakers, in an 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.

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.

He also served as deputy commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanista­n.

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