U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. to head the Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Friday.

Renuart, currently serving as senior military assistant to the defense secretary, would be promoted to the grade of general with the new assignment.

The current commander of the Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Admiral Timothy J. Keating, would be transferred to the Pacific Command, replacing Admiral William J. Fallon. Fallon was to succeed John Abizaid, who was retiring, as head of the Central Command that oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

The U.S. Northern Command, based in Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was created in 2002 in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The command is responsible for U.S. military operations in the continental United States, Mexico, Canada, and the northern Caribbean.

Source: Xinhua