President Joe Biden announced Monday, March 8, the appointment of two women to head US military commands, who are expected to become the second and third women to hold such senior military positions in the United States.
US Air Force General Jacqueline Van Ovost, the only woman with the rank of 4-star general, the highest in the US Army, is appointed head of logistics transport (Transcom).
Army 3-Star General Laura Richardson is chosen to lead South Command (Southcom), which covers Central and Latin America, and is expected to earn her 4th Star.
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If their appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Jacqueline Van Ovost and Laura Richardson will succeed Lori Robinson, who had become the first woman to head a military command (Northcom) before retiring in 2018.
“Each of these two women made careers demonstrating unparalleled skill, integrity and a sense of duty
,
”
said Joe Biden, introducing them in a short address to the White House.
“Today is International Women's Day and we need to see and recognize the accomplishments of these two pioneering women
,” he added.
The American army has eleven military commands, all led by 4-star generals, who have almost the rank of minister in the United States.
Last month, the
New York Times
revealed that the appointments of these two women had been decided as early as last year by the Pentagon, but that the announcement was postponed until after the presidential election in November, because the ex -Defence Minister Mark Esper feared that Donald Trump would not approve of these choices because of their gender.