The Senate has confirmed the Trump administration’s nominees for a trio key military positions: Adm. Daryl Caudle for the Chief of Naval Operations, Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton for Vice Chief of Space Operations and Vice Adm. Frank Bradley for head of US Special Operations Command.
The three passed the upper legislative house in voice vote late Thursday, according to congressional records.
Just a few days ago Caudle, currently the commander of US Fleet Forces Command, appeared before lawmakers for his confirmation hearing which, as Breaking Defense previously reported, went mostly smoothly for the career submarine commander.
He did reveal in response to lawmaker questions that he would consider scrapping one of the Navy’s submarines, the USS Boise, which has been stuck in maintenance for the better part of a decade. He said that the Boise’s troubled recent history was “a dagger in my heart as a submarine officer.”
Bratton, the current deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs and requirements, previously served at US Northern Command and at the Space Training and Readiness Command.
In his current role, Bratton played a key part in development of the Space Force’s overarching “warfighting framework” that seeks to substantiate Space Force plans to conduct warfare “in, from and through” space — as well as establish the centrality of “space superiority” to joint military operations against peer adversaries China and Russia.
Bratton, whose confirmation confers on him a fourth star, will replace Gen. Michael Guetlein, who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the program manager for his ambitious Golden Dome effort to build a comprehensive missile shield for the US homeland.
Meanwhile Bradley, the confirmed SOCOM nominee jumping up to the rank of admiral, comes from the secretive world of Joint Special Operations Command, which he currently leads. A Navy SEAL and former member of SEAL Team 4, Bradley previously served as head of US Special Operations Command Central “leading joint special operations throughout the Middle East and South Asia,” according to his official biography. He was “among the first” to deploy to Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks by Al Qaeda.
Bradley’s appointment comes during a turning point for the special operations community, which for the last few years has attempted to pivot from the non-stop tempo of kinetic action during the Global War on Terror to the relationship-building, long-term strategic focus of great power competition.
“On a strategic landscape where adversaries and competitors challenge the rules-based international order, SOF provide the agility, precision, and nuance needed to confront and disrupt these threats in competition,” he told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing in July. “Should the need arise, we are also ready to integrate into the joint force to respond to crisis and engage in high-end conflict, where the precise delivery of violence will be critical to shaping success on the battlefield.”
Justin Katz and Theresa Hitchens contributed reporting.
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Author: Lee Ferran
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