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Seasoned combat leader sworn in as Army's vice chief of staff

WASHINGTON -- Experience on the battlefield helped earn Gen. Joseph Martin the nomination to the Army's second highest military rank.

Martin was sworn in as the Army's 37th vice chief of staff in a Pentagon ceremony Friday, following a steady progression of the service's senior leadership into higher positions within the Department of Defense.

Gen. Mark A. Milley, the Army's chief of staff, said Martin's extensive time in combat during several deployments amply qualified him for the job.

"This is probably one of the top two, maybe three, general officers with combat experience," said Milley, who presided over the ceremony. "He has been in combat at every level of command. This guy's got five combat tours. He's got over 40 months in combat. It's an amazing combat record."

A 1986 graduate of West Point, Martin deployed to Iraq five times including stints as a company commander during Operation Desert Storm, as a battalion and brigade commander during Iraqi Freedom and he commanded the famed 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Martin also served as the commander of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command during the pivotal Battle of Mosul, a major multi-national offensive that helped the Iraqi government retake control of the Iraqi city from ISIS forces.

Martin has said that he will continue to emphasize the Army's priorities of readiness, modernization and people, and to recruit the "best and brightest" into the force.

Martin, the Army's former director of Army Staff, succeeds Gen. James C. McConville, who will take over for Milley as the service's chief of staff. Milley and former Army Secretary Mark Esper both received nominations for higher leadership positions within the DOD. The Senate confirmed Milley on July 25 to succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump swore in Esper as secretary of defense last week.