Air Force Gen. Paul Selva has been confirmed as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Darren McDew has been confirmed to replace Selva as the new head of U.S. Transportation Command.
Selva, whose prior assignments include serving as the top military adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that belligerent nations — particularly Russia — pose more of a threat to U.S. security than terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State.
"I would put the threats to this nation in the following order: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and all of the organizations that have grown around the ideology that was articulated by al-Qaida early at the turn of this century," Selva said at the July 14 hearing.
Selva drew a distinction between the Islamic State, often referred to by the acronym ISIS, and Russia in terms of which could destroy the U.S.
"Russia possess the conventional and nuclear capability to be an existential threat to this nation, should they choose to do so," he said. "Right now, ISIS does not present a clear and present threat to our homeland and to the existence of our nation. It is a threat we must deal with and we must help our regional partners deal with, but it does not threaten us at home."
During the same confirmation hearing, McDew said cyber threats pose "one of the greatest threats that faces our nation."
McDew, whose most recent assignment was head of Air Mobility Command, said that cyberattacks have the potential to cause great harm to TRANSCOM and the commercial companies and networks upon which it relies.
Air Force Gen. Darren McDew has been confirmed to be the commander of U.S. Transportation Command.
Photo Credit: Mike Morones/Staff
"Ninety percent of our work is done on the commercial networks, and that is a threat I've got to face going forward if confirmed," McDew said at the hearing. "There is always that threat that adversarial nations could shut down our nation. I believe the U.S. Transportation Command has put some things in place to make that less likely. But as we go forward, the threat only gets worse. Our ability to deal with it must evolve and we have to find ways to do better."
On Monday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., issued statements praising the confirmation of both Selva and McDew. Illinois is home to Scott Air Force Base, where both TRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command are located.
"During his tenure at Scott Air Base, General Selva has distinguished himself as a strong, capable leader," Durbin said in a statement. "Although we will miss having him in Illinois, I look forward to working with General Selva in his new role here in Washington, D.C. I congratulate him on his swift and unanimous confirmation in the Senate."
"After many years of Air Force service — including time in three leadership positions at Scott Air Force Base — I am confident that General McDew is well-qualified to continue USTRANSCOM's track record of success," Durbin said in a separate statement. "Congratulations to General McDew on his speedy confirmation by the United States Senate. I am glad that he and his family will continue to call Scott home."
