A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)
Posted on 10/27/2012 8:02:24 AM PDT by combat_boots
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 19, 2012 — President Obama has nominated Army General David M. Rodriguez to succeed Army General Carter F. Ham as the commander of U.S. Africa Command, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said, October 18, 2012.
U.S. Africa Command is the newest combatant command, and its headquarters is in Stuttgart, Germany. The command encompasses all of Africa and its adjacent waters except for Egypt.
The Senate must confirm Rodriguez, who currently is commander of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.
"He has served in a variety of key leadership roles on the battlefield," Panetta said in announcing the nomination. Rodriguez was the first commander of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, the corps-level command in Afghanistan. He was the commander during the surge into Afghanistan, "and was a key architect of the successful campaign plan that we are now implementing," Panetta said.
Ham has served as the Africa Command chief since March 2011. "Under his leadership, Africom has played a very central role in some very important missions," the secretary said. "From the NATO campaign in Libya that led to the fall of Gadhafi to successful counterterrorism efforts in Somalia [and] Yemen to efforts we are now involved in in Nigeria and Mali and elsewhere, General Ham has really brought Africom into a very pivotal role in that challenging region."
The nation is "deeply grateful for his outstanding service," he said.
Panetta also announced the nomination of Lt. Gen. John M. Paxton Jr. to receive his fourth star and serve as the next assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. He would succeed Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., whom the president has nominated to command coalition and U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Paxton is commander of Marine Corps Forces Command, Marine Fleet Force Atlantic and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe. Paxton and Dunford also must be confirmed for their jobs by the Senate.
looks like Obama is trying to find his scapegoat for *not* rescuing the Americans in Benghazi.
Time for an interview with General Ham, ASAP, before anything happens to him.
No doubt Rodriquez is an a$$ kissing politically upwardly mobile General who has seen little action. As Panetta put it, he’s had many “leadership” positions. Funny he didn’t say “combat” posts.
There is a story (rumor?) out in the ether that Ham was fired 30 seconds after he refused to obey a “stand down” order.
...not sayin’ it’s true....just sayin’ it’s out there.
Dave Rodriguez...we graduated high school together...Just was talking to him at our 40th reunion. Good guy.
And we are supposed to believe our brave Generals will prevent Obama from remaining in office even if he loses the election. Fat Chance!! If Obama gets a pass on this, he will have no reason to fear anything. He will have proven he has control of the Media, the CIA, and the Military, even while betraying the military. He will NOT go quietly.
I don’t think this has anything to do with Benghazi. Ham has been in trouble for a few months over some pretty lavish spending habits that have been reported in the Army Times. He will be retiring, but the question is whether he will retire as a 4 star or a 3 star. Dempsey wants him to keep all 4 stars, but Panetta hasn’t made up his mind.
Fragging was also common to those who were in leadership positions that had no business being there.
Romney’s Military Advisory Council of over 300 retired “flag” officers is an indicator that he is about to clean out the Pentagon. I would think that Allen West is going to play a key role on the legislative side as well. Although I like him for Defense Secretary, he might be better serving as the new Armed Services Committee Chairman.
On the intelligence side, my vote goes to Michael Scheuer
http://non-intervention.com/
You had an ambassador and communication professional (Smith) who were guarded by the ‘February 17th Martyrs Brigade’.
Were they trafficking heavy arms to Syria? Probably. We’re they doing something hinky? Definitely.
Was what they were doing likely the province of the CIA? Most definitely.
Was the CIA looking in on outright incompetence, while literally within earshot of rifle fire? Yes!
This all misplays Obama’s ideology, long held paranoia and bias world view. I’m sure Obama and his people thought what Steven’s was doing was sexy, because it was risky. Of coarse, a leftist can’t trust the CIA, right? The CIA killed Che, Obama’s hero, Obama is the self styled Che of the new Islamic caliphate.
Again, you can’t trust the CIA, that is until your getting your ass shot off in a third world hell hole and your leftist party friends leave you for dead.
Does the military have to report WHEN Ham either resigned, informed of his intention to “retire”, or was relieved of his duties? If so, where is that reported so we can see whether the rumors are true?
A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)
Michael Weaver posted this on Facebook:
Thanks combat_boots. Rodriguez? Election in ten days? Nah, no pandering there.
I read about Ham a few weeks ago and thought, wow, how long have the PINO and Panetta allowed this to go on — Was it disinformation or the truth about Ham’s actions on the spending?
Could Stevens have been sacrificed to get rid of evidence of the collaboration going on?
Anyone recognize those foreign jump wings?
This guy may be the real deal - not a pentagon desk jockey.
I'll ask "#2 Son" -- (SGT Major candidate, Ft Bragg) -- he'll know the "straight skinny"...
Rodriguez was a regional commander when I was in Afghanistan... Back then he was not PC at all.
Might you be thinking about Ham’s predecessor, Gen. William “Kip” Ward?
Army Times headlines and link:
“DoD details 4-star’s lavish spending”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/08/ap-ward-africom-lavish-spending-081712
FReegards
General David M. Rodriguez.
Is this another Perfumed Pantagon Prince or can he actually do something to defend the country?
General David M. Rodriguez.
Is this another Perfumed Pantagon Prince or can he actually do something to defend the country?
Sorry about the error,but I misspelled Pentagon.My damn fingers are typing to fast.
It’s extremely hard to know whom to ask and whom to trust. But it would be good if the next C-I-C, assuming it isn’t the Traitor in Chief again, were to look into the top ranks of the military and retire a number of the bad guys.
One clue, I think, would be to fire everyone who was fast-tracked by Obama or Clinton.
It’s a pretty safe rule that Obama hasn’t made one good appointment anywhere during his time in the White House. Not one.
A baby killer as head of the health department. A Communist as head of the military. Insane Czars all over the place. Lesbian whackos on the Supreme Court. He has an almost perfect record of promoting and appointing the worst possible people imaginable.
Would Romney clean out this mess? Frankly, I doubt it. Bush did little or nothing to clean out Clinton’s mess, even though clinton appointees constantly undermined his administration for eight years. I fear that Romney will do no better.
They hijacked the Democratic Party in the 1970s.
He's their ideological issue..
and others of that ilk occupy the federal government.
Bill Gertz wrote in his 2008 book, The Failure Factory..
One of the biggest danger to America is the professional bureaucrats in State, Defense, Justice and the White House executive staff. Many have an agenda that is "overwhelmingly dominated by the long-discredited left-liberal policies that came to dominate the worst of the Democratic Party in the 1960s and 1970s." During the Bush Administration the upper ranks of the military included "Clinton's generals" who had been schooled in political correctness and opposed Bush policies and programs.
So maybe Obama is cleaning house of the Bush generals.. getting ready for term two.
That of course will led to the much-awaited crisis Abe explains from "the other side."
You initiated a policy to tolerate the Marxist-Alinsky radicals and let them rant; not only has it not ceased but was constantly augmented by decades of infiltration and indoctrination. You now have two Americas. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half statist and half free; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.
As we approach that crisis the military will have to choose sides.
Then let’s hope he hasn’t been turned!
I don’t think Romney got his reputation as a turnaround artist by trying to leave things alone. He’ll go after identifying and correcting the problems in a big way. If this means, as it must, big changes in “management” - he will do it. Like Reagan, he knows how to surround himself with smart people and use their talents to achieve his stated goals.
If Rodriguez was the key architect of the campaign plan we’re so successfully following in Afghanistan, then, no, he deserves to be retired. Victory is all that counts in war, and Afghanistan is getting ready to go down in the record books as a loss. 11years. Over 2000 dead Soldiers. I love our Soldiers and I honor their service, but folks, this one is going down as a loss. And there are way too many losers getting promoted and being allowed to retire.
“and was a key architect of the successful campaign plan that we are now implementing,”
Panetta has a really funny way of measuring “success”. Our combat deaths are up and not from deaths while on patrols or engagement missions but deaths from our guys and our bases coming under attack and more successful attacks. That’s sucess?
They need to update their map. South Sudan is now an independent country as of 2011, and a member of the United Nations.
Good Lord they seem to be making a sweep of anyone who would disagree with them.....this is way too scary
I hope you’re right. One of Bush’s worst failures was his failure to shovel out the manure that Clinton left in his administration.
The Democrats have a habit of making lots of appointments of fanatics who think their way, and the Republicans have a habit of going along with it.
Let’s hope that Romney is different. The story of the Augean Stables comes to mind. A whole lot of shoveling out is desperately needed.
I think you are referring to William Ward who was releived of AFRICOM in March for lavish spending. Ham succeeded him and has done a fine job in a politically charged environment of growing Islamic agitation pitted against Obama’s insistence that all is right in the Arab Spring.
I hope not... I saw him angrily walk out of a press conference because of stupid reporter questions... He got my admiration that day.
Check the keyword for Benghazi....absolute torrents of articles and statements.
Saw an abbreviated Brett Baer Special Report on the Benghazi coverup ,...attack this morning.
Expect more to be shown tonight and Sunday ...believe at 10 pm EST.
OMG... this is like the new TV series “Last Resort” except it is for real!
Not Good...
:-(
It’s out there. Here for example:
Good grief - I did get that wrong - I had no idea that Ward was already replaced by someone that is trying to do the right thing...which would be the opposite of what our PINO wants.
Interesting - He needs to be in front of a camera. He reminds me of Ron Brown right now.
Interesting - He needs to be in front of a camera. He reminds me of Ron Brown right now.
I would believe it if he said “not on my watch do we let them fight this out alone on a rooftop in Benghazi. - If I can’t act to save them, I’m out!”
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