Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday nominated Marine Corps Lieutenant General Michael E. Langley to lead U.S. forces in Africa and replace Army General Stephen Townsend who has led the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) since 2019.
General Langley is currently serving as commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command; commanding general, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic; and commander, Marine Corps Forces North, Norfolk, Virginia.
“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the president has made the following nomination: Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley for appointment to the grade of general, with assignment as commander, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany,” said a statement by the U.S. Defense Secretary in Washington DC.
Langley has served in many places around the world, including in Somalia, Okinawa and Afghanistan, and worked at the Pentagon CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Although AFRICOM oversees U.S. troops deployment to Africa, it is based in Stuttgart, Germany, in Europe, far away from the African continent.
Apart from General Langley, the Army has tapped Lieutenant General Darryl Williams to serve as the next commander of U.S. Army Europe and Middle East, and if confirmed, he will become the first Black soldier to lead that command.
He is expected to replace General Christopher Cavoli who has been nominated to become NATO’s next supreme allied commander.
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