President Joe Biden has selected the commander who, if confirmed, will become the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Adm. Chris Grady, currently the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, will replace the outgoing Gen. John Hyten, who is set to retire at the end of the month, the Department of Defense announced on Tuesday.
“Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady for reappointment to the rank of admiral, and assignment as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. Grady is currently serving as commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia,” the DOD statement reads.
The Senate received the nomination from the White House, and it was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday.
Grady has commanded the Fleet Forces Command since February 2019, and he commanded the Europe-based U.S. 6th Fleet for the three years before that. He also previously led the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, Destroyer Squadron 22, guided missile destroyer the USS Cole, and the USS Ardent.
It’s unknown if his confirmation hearing will happen before Hyten leaves the role.
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Last week, the outgoing general warned that his successor will have to “focus on speed and reinserting speed back into the process of the Pentagon,” adding, “Although we’re making marginal progress, the Department of Defense is still unbelievably bureaucratic and slow. We can go fast if we want to, but the bureaucracy we put in place is just brutal.”
