Hegseth announces Trump nominations for CENTCOM and AFRICOM leadership

President Donald Trump has nominated two high-ranking military officials to lead the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. African Command (AFRICOM). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the announcement on Wednesday, revealing that Navy Vice Adm. Charles B. Cooper II has been nominated to be promoted to admiral and assigned as commander of CENTCOM at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Additionally, Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson has been nominated to be promoted to general and assigned as commander of AFRICOM in Stuttgart, Germany.

Vice Adm. Cooper has built an impressive career as a surface warfare officer, serving on guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers, and amphibious assault ships. He has also held various executive and military assistant roles for the White House, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, AFRICOM, and the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters. Cooper has served as the principal U.S. Advisor to the Interior Minister of Afghanistan and as Director of Surface Warfare Officer assignments.

On the other hand, Lt. Gen. Anderson currently serves as the director for Joint Force Development, Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He has operational experience flying the KC-135R, MC-130E, and U-28A across the globe. Anderson’s career highlights include commanding a special operations squadron, expeditionary squadron, operations group, special operations wing, and Special Operations Command, Africa.

The nominations of Vice Adm. Cooper and Lt. Gen. Anderson represent Trump’s continued focus on strengthening the leadership within the U.S. military commands. These appointments come at a crucial time as the U.S. continues to navigate complex geopolitical challenges both in the Middle East and Africa.

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