President Bush has nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance L. Smith for appointment to the rank of general and assignment as commander of US Joint Forces Command, headquartered at Norfolk, Va. Smith currently serves as deputy commander for US Central Command. If confirmed by the Senate, Smith would replace Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, who is now serving as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The JFCOM position has a NATO responsibility, as well, and NATO already has agreed to name Smith as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.
Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Davis, the Department of the Air Force’s top internal watchdog, has been nominated to lead Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service’s bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.