Special Operations Command gets new leader

Lt. Gen. Raymond “Tony” Thomas has been officially appointed to lead Special Operations Command, Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter announced Monday.

“General Thomas has big boots to fill, but he has proven himself — as a soldier, special operator and leader, time and time again over the course of his illustrative career,” Carter said during a news briefing alongside Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Thomas’s new command is all but guaranteed pending confirmation by Congress.

Army Gen. Joseph Votel, current commander of Special Operations Command, if confirmed, will replace Army Gen. Lloyd Austin at Central Command.

“I am humbled by this potential opportunity to continue to serve our country and its Special Operations Forces, and I am honored by the trust inherent in this nomination,” Thomas said in an emailed statement. “If the Senate confirms the nomination, I will be committed to keeping our nation safe and maintaining and supporting the world’s best Special Operations Forces.”

Read more at The Washington Post

Featured image courtesy of Sgt. John Crosby