Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the nomination of Lt. Gen. Robert Neller to be the next Commandant of the Marine Corps. Neller, who currently serves as commander of US Marine Corps Forces Command, would replace Gen. Joseph Dunford, who has been tapped to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Bob is a warrior, is a leader. He’s a statesmen,” Carter told Pentagon reporters on Wednesday. “We traveled together to theater and around this country and I saw Bob’s outstanding relationship with our troops. He loves them, and he relates to them, and they light up when he’s talking to them. I know he’ll be a magnificent C?ommandant to the marines and another strong addition to the Joint Chiefs.” The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Dunford on July 9.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…