Mattis Tapped to Take CENTCOM

USMC GEN Mattis has been nominated to take over Central Command.

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, an erudite combat veteran known for quoting poetry and openly expressing his enthusiasm for "killing the enemy," has been picked to take over U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Mattis would replace Gen. David Petraeus, who is in Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO's top military officer there. Petraeus took over after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was removed by President Obama on June 23 in the wake of a Rolling Stone article that quoted McChrystal and his staff mocking U.S. civilian leaders.

Mattis is currently the head of Norfolk, Va.-based Joint Forces Command, which coordinates strategy and trains young generals. In June, he was passed over for the job of commandant of the Marine Corps in favor of Gen. James Amos.

As head of Central Command, Mattis would oversee U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as across the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran. In his new position, Mattis technically would be Petraeus' boss.

By: Brant