Retired general may be tapped for top Army job
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Retired Gen. Peter J. Shoomaker
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Retired Army Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the former head of Special Operations Command, will be Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recommendation to become the next Army chief of staff, CNN confirmed.
The nomination, which is formally made by the president, is not finalized, but multiple sources in the Bush administration tell CNN the announcement of the nomination of the retired four star general is expected in the next few days.
The current chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, is retiring Wednesday. Rumsfeld has made clear he has been unhappy with the Army, recently firing Army Secretary Tom White.
It remains uncertain whether Congress will support Schoomaker or question why an active duty general could not be selected.
Gen. Tommy Franks, head of Central Command, and Gen. John Keane each turned down the top Army job for family reasons and chose retirement.
Schoomaker retired in November 2000 after a lengthy career in Special Operations, an expertise that Rumsfeld has made clear he wants the Army to focus on.
Schoomaker began his career as an armor officer, which would also give him expertise in the chief of staff's basic mission, which is to train and equip Army forces. He joined the special forces in the 1980s, and as an Army major in Iran participated in Operation Desert One, the failed rescue of more than 50 American hostages.
He rose to command the Army's ultra-secret Delta Force in July 1989 and July 1992 before heading the Joint Special Operations Command from July 1994 to August 1996. That put him charge of coordinating special operations of all the military services. He then became the head of the Special Operations Command in November 1997.
During the Clinton administration, Schoomaker refused a request by the Justice Department to review the attack plan for the compound at Waco, Texas, making it clear he felt it was inappropriate to ask the military to get involved in a civilian law enforcement matter. He did let it be known that he felt the plan was not how the military might have proceeded.
Pentagon officials point to previous cases of senior military officers being brought out of retirement. They include Gen. George Marshall, who was brought out of retirement after World War II to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
