US nominates Navy admiral to head Pacific Command

The Obama administration nominated Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear III as commander of U.S. Pacific Command, an area toward which the United States is shifting its military focus.

If confirmed by the Senate, Locklear would head military operations in a region that spans the Pacific, including China, Japan and North and South Korea.

Locklear is currently serving as commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa. He was commander of the NATO mission in Libya earlier this year.

Locklear would succeed Adm. Robert Willard, who has been commander of U.S. Pacific Command since 2009.

The Obama administration has signaled a shift of strategy to the Pacific as it winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last month the president announced that 2,500 Marines would be stationed in Australia, in a move that was viewed as showing China that the United States would remain active in the Pacific.

U.S. Pacific Command is one of six regions into which the U.S. military splits the globe.

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