President Barack Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. Anthony Rock for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as Chief of the Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan, at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Rock currently serves as vice director of strategic plans and policy on the Joint Staff, according to a Feb. 25 Pentagon release.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.

