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North Atlantic Treaty Organization's New Commander Is From Ohio

defensenews.com

NATO today is getting a new supreme allied commander, a former top-ranking U.S. military officer in Korea hailed by Defense Secretary Ash Carter as a proven warrior-diplomat.  U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti has ties to Ohio. Jim Letizia reports.

The 60-year-old will be the 18th U.S. officer to hold the post since General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first NATO supreme commander in 1951.  The commander by tradition an is responsible for the overall direction and conduct of NATO's global military operations. The Pentagon notes there is a bridge named after Scarparrotti and his father, a World War II veteran, in his hometown of Logan, Ohio.  Scaparrotti is a West Point graduate and former head of U.S. forces in Korea. He takes over NATO from U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove,  who helped lead the alliance during the most sweeping revamp of its collective defense capabilities since the Cold War.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.