US President Barack Obama may pick Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey as the US military’s top officer, filling a crucial post that in recent years has served as the main point of contact with Pakistan’s military, sources said late on Wednesday.
Dempsey is a leading candidate for the high-profile job of chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Dempsey, who commanded troops during the Iraq war and has broad support in Congress, would replace Admiral Mike Mullen in the post.
Mullen is a holdover from the Bush administration who has been in the role of top US military officer since 2007 and is due to step down on October 1. As the army chief of staff, Dempsey is the top officer in the largest branch of the US military.
He has served in the post only since last month. If confirmed, Dempsey would work with Leon Panetta, now the head of the CIA and Obama’s choice to replace the departing Robert Gates as the defence secretary.
