(PatrioticPost.com)- President Joe Biden is expected to announce some major moves in NATO leadership in the coming days.
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Biden will soon name a new commander of all allied and U.S. forces in Europe, as well as a new general who will lead the special operation forces.
If completed as suspected, it will mark the largest change to military leadership at NATO since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
General Christopher Cavoli of the Army, who currently serves as the commander of U.S. Army Europe, is expected to be selected as the new leader of the U.S. European Command. That division runs all military operations for U.S. in Europe.
The head of that division also has the dual role of serving as the supreme allied commander Europe. That person is also responsible for operations in Europe for NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Tod Wolters of the Air Force currently serves in that role, but Cavoli is expected to replace him sometime over the summer. If he were named to the position, he would likely be named for a three-year term.
Wolters had his term extended by a few weeks, since he was leading the allies in their response and overall deployment of equipment and weapons to Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Journal reports that these new nominations Biden is expected to make will come at the same time that the military is shifting its overall focus. Instead of fighting various insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military is going back to more “traditional” military treats, such as those from Russia and China.
Since Russia first invaded Ukraine a little more than a month ago, the United States has deployed roughly 20,000 troops to Europe. Those troops added to the 80,000 that were already stationed there.
That being said, Biden has remained firm in his commitment to not sending any troops directly into Ukraine — at least for the time being.
In addition to those 100,000 troops, another 40,000 that are deployed across the continent of Europe as NATO member troops would be under the command of Cavoli once he’s officially named to the post.
Since the invasion of Ukraine began, NATO has collectively deployed troops to countries such as Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia. That was all done to help bolster the strength of the alliance on its easternmost flank, which borders but does not include Ukraine.
The other move Biden is expected to announce in the coming weeks is naming Lieutenant General Bryan Fenton of the Army as the head of the U.S. Special Operations Command. That unit, which is based in Tampa, Florida, oversees all the military’s special operations across the globe.
Fenton currently serves as the head of the Joint Special Operations Command, which is located at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. If he is indeed named to this new post, he would replace General Richard Clarke of the Army, who is set to retire in the near future.
The Senate would need to confirm both Fenton and Cavoli to their posts if Biden nominates them.
