This blunt Army officer has been nominated for chairman
SUMMARY
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Dec. 8, 2018, to announce his nomination of General Mark Milley, 60, as the new chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's top military position.
"I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army — as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Joe Dunford, who will be retiring," wrote Trump.
Milley has served as chief of staff of the Army since August 2015.
He reportedly graduated from Princeton before serving as a Green Beret. He would go on to hold leadership roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The selection of Milley breaks the unofficial tradition of rotating chairmen by which service they're a part of. Milley is replacing Dunford, a Marine, who took the reigns from an Army chairman.
General Joe Dunford.
(DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro)The announcement comes surprisingly earlier, considering Dunford's official tenure doesn't end until October 2019. Trump went on to tweet, "Date of transition to be determined."
Trump was expected to make the announcement at Dec. 8, 2018's Army-Navy game, reportedly telling White House pool reporters on Dec. 7, 2018, "I have another one for tomorrow that I'm going to be announcing at the Army-Navy game, I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession."
This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.