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Carter Praises Hyten’s Nomination as Next STRATCOM Commander

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In a DoD news release issued today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter praised President Barack Obama’s nomination of Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten to become the next commander of U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. 

STRATCOM has global strategic missions that include strategic deterrence; space operations; cyberspace operations; joint electronic warfare; global strike; missile defense; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; combating weapons of mass destruction; and analysis and targeting, according to defense officials.

Hyten currently serves as the Air Force Space Command commander at Peterson AFB, Colorado. Hyten’s nomination requires Senate confirmation. 

“I want to congratulate Gen. John Hyten on his nomination by President Obama to be commander of U.S. Strategic Command,” Carter said in the release.

Wide range of roles

“I've known and worked closely with Gen. Hyten for several years, and over the course of his three-and-a-half decades in the Air Force, he has been a model for generations of men and women in uniform,” the secretary said. “And he's done so in a wide range of roles: from commanding Airmen at the squadron, group, wing, and major command levels, to leveraging America's space assets in support of troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, to helping our military confront 21st-century threats in new domains like space and cyberspace.”

Hyten’s 35 years of strong managerial experience, deep technical expertise and visionary leadership, Carter said, makes him “the perfect choice to lead this critical command in the years to come, as the men and women of STRATCOM carry out missions essential to our national defense -- including sustaining nuclear deterrence through a safe, secure, and effective triad, helping defend our networks and deter malicious actors in cyberspace, and preparing for the possibility of a conflict that extends into space.”

Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney is STRATCOM’s current commander.

Carter said he has confidence that Hyten “will bring to STRATCOM the same high caliber of focus and dedication to defending our country, and taking care of those who do so, that Adm. Cecil Haney has brought to the command over the last three years.”

The secretary added, “I'm grateful to Adm. Haney for his long and distinguished career of service, and I hope the Senate will act swiftly on Gen. Hyten's nomination.”