New Pentagon leaders-to-be: DoD announces raft of high-level Biden nominations

WASHINGTON — With Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown officially tapped to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Biden administration today announced a slew of additional nominations for top national security posts including the Missile Defense Agency, Marine Corps and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Air Force Maj Gen Heath Collins has been nominated to receive a third star and take the reins as the new director of the Missile Defense Agency. Collins is currently serving as MDA’s program executive officer for the Ground-Based Weapons Systems, and if approved, would succeed Vice Admiral Jon Hill.

The list also included the official Pentagon notice that President Joe Biden wants Gen. Eric Smith, currently the Marine Corps’ assistant commandant, to replace Gen. David Berger as the top officer for the service, as reported earlier today. If approved by the chamber, Smith will succeed Berger at a pivotal time for the service’s transformation. 

RELATED: Assistant commandant Smith tapped to lead Marine Corps

The presumed next director of US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, is currently serving as the deputy commander of US Cyber Command, which oversees cyberspace planning and operations. His nomination was previously reported. Meanwhile Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, currently the Pentagon advisor to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is set to take the reins at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Additional appointments announced include:

• Air Force Lt Gen Gregory Guillot to receive his fourth star and become the commander of US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command;
• Air Force Lt Gen Donna Shipton to take the reins of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center; and 
• Air Force Maj Gen Michael Koscheski to become a lieutenant general and take over as the deputy commander for the Air Combat Command.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George was previously nominated to head up the Army, and over the next few days and weeks, the administration is also expected to name its first draft picks to take over the military reins of the Navy and Air Force. 

However, nothing is certain before the Senate signs off, which means the Senate Armed Services Committee first needs to approve all of those nominations before sending them to the chamber floor for a vote. Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville has placed a legislative roadblock in the way of top Pentagon leaders over his objection to the department’s military reproductive policy. As a result, it is unclear when some of these nominations will get a vote or if the administration will need to appoint interim leaders until the roadblock is cleared.