Army general tapped to lead NORAD, Northcom

The Army general who was tasked to investigate whether Afghan detainees were mistreated was nominated Tuesday to become the new head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command.

The Pentagon announced Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr.’s selection, which must be confirmed by the Senate. He was also nominated for promotion to a fourth star.

A hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled Thursday.

Jacoby met Tuesday with Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., a member of the committee, said Tara Trujillo, Udall’s spokeswoman.

Jacoby was assigned in 2004 to examine treatment of detainees at U.S. prisons in Afghanistan. His report, made public in 2006, found “no systematic or widespread mistreatment of detainees” but said policies varied from prison to prison and that interrogation standards were inconsistently applied.

Jacoby is the director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff in Washington. He has also served as deputy commander for operations for U.S. forces in Iraq, deputy commander of the U.S. Alaskan Command at Fort Richardson, Alaska, and as commander of I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Jacoby would replace Adm. James Winnefeld, who was nominated to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

NORAD is a joint U.S.-Canada command that defends the two countries from airborne threats and monitors maritime traffic off their shores. Northern Command was created after the 2001 terrorist attacks to defend the homeland and help civilian authorities handle domestic crises.

Both have headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

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