Obama to nominate Marine general as Joint Chiefs chairman

Commandant of the Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford Jr., testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee on military budget matters on Capitol Hill in January. Photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say President Barack Obama will nominate Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, choosing a widely respected, combat-hardened commander who led the Afghanistan war coalition during a key transition in 2013-2014.

The move cuts short Dunford’s service as the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, a job he began last October. But the rapid promotion is one of several that have marked Dunford’s fast-tracked military career, which saw him leap from a one-star brigadier general to four stars in about three years.

Obama is tapping Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva, a pilot and current head of U.S. Transportation Command, to be vice chairman.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly before the announcement.

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