Pentagon names its picks for chiefs of CENTCOM, AFRICOM, SOCOM
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who pushed for unmanned and AI integration at US Fifth Fleet, would take the helm of US Central Command, should he be confirmed.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, speaks during International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2023, March 9, 2023, in Manama, Bahrain. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Helen Brown)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon today announced its nominations for new leaders for US Central Command, Africa Command and Special Operations Command.
For CENTCOM, the nominee is Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, currently the deputy commander of US CENTCOM. He previously served as commander of US Fifth Fleet, where he established the Navy’s first unmanned and AI task force. There, he also led “multiple real world operations countering Iranian and Houthi malign activity throughout the Middle East, including operation Prosperity Guardian and Poseidon Archer in the Southern Red Sea,” according to his official biography.
Cooper is a career surface warfare officer who “served on guided-missile cruisers, guided-missile destroyers, aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships,” before moving on to assistant roles in the White House and the Office of Secretary of Defense.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson is the nominee for AFRICOM, and if confirmed, he would pin on a fourth star. Anderson is currently the J7 on the joint staff, responsible for joint force development.
A Michigan native, Anderson has previously been in charge of Special Operations Command, Africa, and was in charge of Joint Task Force-Quartz, which oversaw the movement of US forces out of Somalia and to other African locations in the 2020-2021 timeframe.
According to his official bio, he has piloted the KC-135R, MC-130E, and U-28A “operationally in several contingencies globally.”
Notably, there were reports earlier in the year that the Pentagon was considering merging AFRICOM, which was stood up in 2007, with EUCOM. The current AFRICOM chief, Gen. Michael Langley, said last week that African nations concerned about the move should make their worries known to the White House. The assignment of Anderson may be a sign that such a move is off the table, or at least not imminent.
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On Tuesday, the White House also announced that Navy Vice Adm. Frank Bradley was being tapped for a fourth star and the role of SOCOM chief. He is currently the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, a SOCOM component command.
A Navy SEAL and former gymnast, according to his bio, Bradley “was among the first to deploy to Afghanistan” in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He has served multiple tours on the joint staff and throughout SOCOM.
