Gen. David Rodriguez was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Gen. Carter Ham as the head of the United States Africa Command. Rodriguez still awaits Senate confirmation, but if confirmed he will be responsible for overseeing all of Africa and its adjacent waters (except for Egypt).
Below are five things you should know about Gen. David Rodriguez.
1. He was one of the principal authors of Obama’s counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
Rodriguez served as a deputy to Gens. Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus while in Afghanistan.
2. He currently serves as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command.
He is responsible for manning, training, and equipping active-duty soldiers as well as preparing and training reserve component soldiers.
3. He is credited with standing up the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command (IJC), which oversees day-to-day operations in Afghanistan.
4. He has extensive combat experience.
A West Point graduate, Rodriguez served two tours in Iraq and two tours Afghanistan.
5. Rodriguez was considered for the top position of chief commander in Afghanistan.
