Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, head of US Joint Forces Command, and Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, chief of US European Command, told the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves last week that they do not support raising the status of the chief of the National Guard Bureau to a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Congress Daily’s Megan Scully reports that Smith told the commissioners, who have been asked by Congress to study, among other things, the question of raising the rank of the NGB chief to four stars with a place on the JCS, that he believes such a move would create “another stovepipe.”
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.