POLITICS

Marine Selected to Head Joint Chiefs

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President Obama plans on Tuesday to name Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., a former top commander in Afghanistan who now serves as commandant of the Marine Corps, to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to officials briefed on the selection.
If he is confirmed by the Senate, General Dunford, 59, will take over the top military leadership position at a time of daunting challenges for the armed forces. It would fall to him to complete Mr. Obama’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of next year while prosecuting a grinding air war against the Islamic State.
General Dunford would succeed Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who is retiring after four years as the nation’s top general. General Dempsey was a favorite of the president’s and the go-to person at the Pentagon for White House officials who grew disenchanted with Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. Mr. Hagel has since been replaced by Ashton B. Carter.
It may be hard for General Dunford to duplicate the relationship General Dempsey had with Mr. Obama and his team, but White House officials have spoken highly of him. Mr. Obama plans to make the announcement at noon on Tuesday in the Rose Garden.
In addition to putting General Dunford forward, Mr. Obama plans to nominate Gen. Paul J. Selva, the commander of the United States Transportation Command, to serve as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He would succeed Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., who is retiring.
The two leaders would not only oversee the armed forces through the end of Mr. Obama’s tenure, but they would also face the task of managing the Pentagon budget amid great flux. Both political parties want to spare the Defense Department the brunt of automatic spending cuts set to take effect, but even if it receives more money than is now scheduled, the military may have some significant choices to make.
General Dunford is viewed as a straight-talking Marine who was able to manage security around last year’s Afghan presidential elections as the United States was ending its combat mission.
His nomination had been expected several weeks ago, but it was held up after Mr. Carter expressed interest in another possible candidate, Adm. Samuel Locklear, the head of the United States Pacific Command, according to an administration official. But General Dunford, one Defense Department official said, had more widespread support within the military.
A Boston native who graduated from St. Michael’s College and was commissioned in 1977, General Dunford earned master’s degrees from Georgetown University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He led a regiment into combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and served in a variety of top posts, including commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force.
Over the last few years, he has had a rapid rise through the military hierarchy. He became commander of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan in February 2013, then took over as commandant of the Marine Corps last October.
“Joe Dunford is one of the finest people and officers that I’ve ever, ever met,” the secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, who works with the general in his capacity overseeing the Marines, told reporters last week.
General Dunford has a good chance of confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate because he has the admiration of Senator John McCain of Arizona, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which will consider his nomination.
Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.