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Bush taps Ward as first Africa Command commander |
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09:16, July 11, 2007 |
U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated General William E. Ward as the first commander of U. S. Africa Command, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
Ward is currently serving as the deputy commander of U.S. European Command, which is based in Germany.
The Africa Command would be initially based in Stuttgart, Germany, and established as a sub-unified command, subordinate to U.S. European Command.
The Africa Command would have an initial operational capability by October 2007, and a separate unified command would be established no later than the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
According to the Pentagon, the goal of the Africa Command "is to help build the capacity of African nations and African organizations like the African Standby Force to promote peace and security and respond to crises on the continent," and coordinate the Defense Department's support to other U.S. government programs for Africa.
Ward, 58, joined the U.S. military in 1971. He has held a number of overseas and staff posts, and became the fifth black to be promoted to the rank of general in May 2006.
Bush announced the formation the Africa Command in February, but the administration has been unable to find a place to house the command so far.
The United States has a number of regional commands to oversee its military missions across the globe, like the Pacific Command, the Southern Command, the European Command and the Central Command.
Source: Xinhua
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