Sept. 30 (UPI) — U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley was sworn in Monday as the new chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking military officer in the United States.
President Donald Trump spoke, in the rain, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia to welcome Milley to his new post. He noted the unfortunate weather could bode well for Milley.
“All my life I have heard that if it rains on a big occasion, it brings luck,” Trump said. “You’re my friend, you’re my adviser, and you deserve this position. I never had a doubt.”
Milley promised Trump “informed, candid, impartial military advice.”
“We stand ready to keep the peace or, if necessary, win the war,” he added. “We are the best equipped, best trained, best led military in human history, and our adversaries should know never to underestimate our skill, our capability and our combat power.”
Milley was nominated by Trump last December to succeed the retiring Joe Dunford.
Milley is a graduate of Princeton and Columbia universities and served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I have absolute confidence that he will fulfill his duty with the same brilliance and fortitude he has shown throughout his long and very distinguished career,” Trump added.
