New chief recommended for US Pacific Command

Washington, Feb 3: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he had recommended Adm Timothy Keating to head the US Pacific Command, responsible for an area that stretches from New Zealand to North Korea.

Keating has served as the head of the Northern Command for more than two years, responsible for defending the continental United States, as well as Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida.

He would replace Adm William Fallon, who has been tapped to oversee US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as the head of Central Command.

Keating commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet during the 2003 US-led battle to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and oversaw the active-duty military's response to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the Gulf Coast area in 2005, Gates said yesterday.

The defense chief also said he had recommended Air Force Lt. Gen Victor Renuart to fill Keating's position.

Renuart led a fighter squadron during the first Gulf war and was director of operations for Central Command during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Gates said. He most recently served as a senior military adviser to the defense secretary.

''Each of these fine officers has established a record of accomplishment in a variety of complex and challenging assignments,'' Gates told reporters. ''Each has shown the requisite combination of military, diplomatic and intellectual skills to be successful in these two positions.'' His recommendations were sent to President George W Bush and if the two are nominated, they would require Senate confirmation.

Reuters