KABUL, Afghanistan —
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. arrived here today to attend the change of command ceremony for U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO’s Resolute Support Mission.
Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also meet with senior Afghan government officials during his visit.
Army Gen. John F. Campbell will turn over command of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and the Resolute Support Mission to Army Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. in a ceremony presided over by Central Command commander Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III and German Army Gen. Hans-Lothar Domrose. Domrose commands Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands.
Campbell spent 18 months as the senior NATO commander in Afghanistan. He succeeded Dunford as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force. At the end of 2014, Campbell oversaw the transition from the ISAF mission to the Resolute Support Mission.
Recognizing Service
“I just want to recognize [Campbell’s] 18 months in the leadership position at Resolute Support in Afghanistan, under very difficult conditions,” Dunford said during a news conference. “And I would just tell you that we are fortunate to have had him during this critical period of transition, and [we] also recognize his sacrifice of his family as well, who have been without him for the last 18 months.”
Nicholson will command about 12,000 coalition personnel assigned to the Resolute Support Mission. He comes to the job after serving as the commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command based in Izmir, Turkey.
The about 9,800 Americans in currently Afghanistan are engaged in the training and advising of Afghan forces and conducting a counterterrorism mission.
Dunford is scheduled to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai and Lt. Gen. Qadam Shah Shameem, chief of staff of the Afghan armed forces.
(Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @garamoneDoDNews)