Bush names first Marine ever to chair Joint Chiefs of Staff

Pace, who was tested early as an infantry officer in some of the most fierce fighting in Vietnam, would be the first Marine to serve as the top military officer and chief military adviser to the president.

If confirmed by the Senate, Pace would replace Air Force Gen. Richard Myers as chairman after serving under Myers for three and a half years as vice chairman.

At a ceremony in the White House, Bush also announced the nomination of Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani to be the next vice chairman. The former submarine commander has served for nearly two years in the dual roles of commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command and as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, headquartered in Norfolk, Va.

The choice of the two naval officers, which has been expected, reflects their compatibility with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, who recommended their nomination. Pace has worked closely with Rumsfeld as vice chairman and, like Myers, has never publicly expressed any difference with the secretary.

Giambastiani came to his current post after two years as senior military assistant to Rumsfeld. Both are graduates of the Naval Academy.

Bush praised Myers for his leadership in the transformation of the armed forces and during the combat operations that overthrew the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq.