This story has been corrected.

President Donald Trump has nominated a Navy admiral to become the next leader of U.S. Central Command and an Air Force general to take charge of U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Vice Adm. Charles “Brad” Cooper II was nominated to lead CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. forces and operations across the Middle East and central Asia, according to a Pentagon statement. Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson was nominated to helm U.S. Africa Command, which oversees U.S. troops and operations across most of that continent.

If confirmed by the Senate, both veteran officers would receive a fourth star.

Cooper, who now serves as CENTCOM’s deputy commander, is a career surface warfare officer who commissioned in 1989 after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He would replace Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who has led CENTCOM since April 2022 and is slated to retire. Kurilla in recent months has overseen U.S. strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, attacks on Islamic State group leaders in Syria and American efforts to support Israeli operations against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Cooper, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, would become the first Navy admiral to lead the command since its establishment in 1983. Central Command, based at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla., encompasses 21 countries and includes troubled areas such as Iraq, Yemen and Israel.

Before becoming CENTCOM’s deputy commander, Cooper served as the commander of U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain. He also has commanded U.S. Naval Force Atlantic, Expeditionary Strike Group 7, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, and a guided-missile destroyer and a cruiser, according to his Navy biography.

Anderson, a pilot who has worked in various roles including in the Air Force special operations community, would replace Marine Gen. Michael Langley as the leader of AFRICOM. Langley has led the command since August 2022 and faced issues including the expulsion of U.S. troops from its key drone base in Niger, a rise in ISIS and al-Qaida affiliated terrorist groups on the continent and continued operations against al-Shabab and other extremist groups in Somalia.

Anderson would become the first Air Force officer to helm the Stuttgart, Germany-based Africa Command, which oversees operations and military relations in 53 African nations.

Anderson is now assigned to the Pentagon, where he has worked as the director for Joint Force Development on the Joint Staff since August 2022.

He was commissioned into the Air Force in 1992 after graduating from Washington University in Missouri, according to his biography. He has flown KC-135 Stratotanker jets and MC-130 and U-28 special operations aircraft during his career, racking up some 3,400 hours of flight time including more than 700 hours in combat.

Anderson has previously commanded the 19th Special Operations Squadron, the 58th Special Operations Wing and U.S. Special Operation Command-Africa, according to his biography.

Corrects the reference to Stratotanker jets from KC-130 to KC-135.