Bush chooses Ellis as new
commander-in-chief of STRATCOM
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and
Stripes
Ellis |
WASHINGTON — President Bush has chosen Navy Adm. James O. Ellis Jr. as the new
commander-in-chief of the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., according
to a Defense Department announcement Wednesday.
Ellis is currently head of all U.S. Navy forces in Europe, serving both as commander of
U.S. Naval Forces, Europe, and commander-in-chief, Allied Forces, Southern Europe, Naples,
Italy.
STRATCOM is the Pentagon’s post-Cold War manager of the United States’
so-called "strategic nuclear triad" — the Navy’s submarine launched
ballistic missiles, the Air Force’s bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In 1992 the command replaced the Air Force’s Strategic Air Command and the Joint
Strategic Target Planning Staff .
If Ellis is confirmed for the STRATCOM post, he will replace Adm. Richard Mies, who has
been at the command since June 1998.
Ellis, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., is a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He
has an extensive background as a fighter pilot, and in 1985, he was chosen as the first
commanding officer of the first F/A-18 Hornet squadron, Strike/Fighter Squadron 131, which
made its debut aboard USS Coral Sea.
During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Ellis commanded the USS Abraham Lincoln. In June
1995, he assumed command of Carrier Group 5/Battle Force 7th Fleet, breaking his flag
aboard the USS Independence, which was forward deployed to the Western Pacific and home
ported in Yokosuka, Japan.
Before assuming his current post as head of U.S. naval forces in Europe in 1998, Ellis
served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Plans, Policy and Operations).
There is no word yet about Ellis’ European replacement.
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