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Trump selects a former soldier and Iraq War veteran to serve as Army secretary

The Department of Defense logo is seen on the wall in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

The Department of Defense logo is seen on the wall in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has selected a former soldier and Iraq War veteran to serve as secretary of the Army.

Trump said Daniel P. Driscoll had completed Army Ranger school and deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Iraq. Driscoll, who is from North Carolina, had been recently serving as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Driscoll graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale Law School.

“Dan will be a fearless and relentless fighter for America’s Soldiers and the America First agenda,” Trump said on his social media platform.

In a statement to the AP, the Army said that Driscoll served as an armor officer from August 2007 to March 2011, deploying to Iraq from October 2009 to July 2010. He left the military with the rank of First Lieutenant.

Driscoll went through Ranger school, earning a Ranger tab, but it was not immediately clear when that occurred. Completing the course allows a soldier to wear the tab, but does not mean that he served as a Ranger in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment, which is part of the Army’s special operations command and requires significantly more training.

Driscoll’s military awards include the Army Commendation Medal and the the combat action badge, which are meritoriously earned.

His other awards are often given due to completion of service during a military campaign and include National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

AP Politics

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