“After Lamontagne’s exit, the position of AMC chief was downgraded from a four-star slot to three-star,” the Defense Department bulletin said — a detail that now frames two recent Pentagon nominations announced this week.
Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill’s nomination for Navy “SWO boss”
Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill, the current commander of Naval Surface Forces Atlantic (SURFLANT), has been nominated to serve as the Navy’s top surface warfare officer, the Pentagon announced. Cahill would, if confirmed by the Senate, take on the post often called the “SWO boss” and be elevated to a third star.
Cahill’s résumé in the notice is compact but specific: he graduated from the University of Maine in 1992; he took command of SURFLANT in June 2023 after serving as commander of Carrier Strike Group 15; and his previous commands include the Cyclone-class patrol ship Monsoon and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Preble. The nomination was communicated to lawmakers last week, according to the announcement.
Vice Adm. Brendan McLane’s current role and lineage
The nomination would place Cahill in line to relieve the current top surface warfare officer, Vice Adm. Brendan McLane. McLane became commander of naval surface forces — the position referred to in shorthand as “SWO boss” — in December 2023 after a tour leading SURFLANT himself.
The Pentagon release lists McLane’s career milestones: a 1990 graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy; prior leadership of Navy Recruiting Command and Carrier Strike Group 10; and earlier assignments including commodore of Destroyer Squadron 50 and chief of staff for Naval Surface Force Pacific Fleet. The change, if effected, would continue a pattern of rotational leadership between SURFLANT and the naval surface forces headquarters described in the announcement.
Lt. Gen. Daniel Tulley’s nomination to lead Air Mobility Command
On the Air Force side, the Defense Department named Lt. Gen. Daniel Tulley as its nominee to lead Air Mobility Command (AMC), the organization that “provides airlift for the US military around the world,” the notice said. Tulley is identified as a former tanker pilot who joined the Air Force in the early 1990s and currently serves as commander and president of Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, a detail drawn from his official biography cited in the release.
Tulley’s prior joint and transportation-focused assignments are also noted: he previously served as the director of operations at U.S. Transportation Command and served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon. The nomination was among those communicated to Capitol Hill last week.
Air Mobility Command’s leadership status after Gen. John Lamontagne’s departure
The announcement places Tulley’s potential accession in the context of a recent leadership shift. Gen. John Lamontagne departed AMC in February to assume the post of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, and in the aftermath the Pentagon reduced the AMC chief billet from a four-star to a three-star slot. The change was tied explicitly in the release to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broader push for rank reductions in senior positions department-wide.
In the interim, AMC is being led by Lt. Gen. Rebecca Sonkiss, identified in the Department’s notice as the command’s deputy. The nomination of Tulley, if acted on by the Senate, would see him take the reins in that downgraded, three-star configuration.
What this means for the Navy surface warfare community, AMC personnel, and Congress
- Navy surface warfare community: The group will be watching the Senate confirmation process closely, since the nomination would swap leaders at the top of naval surface forces and bring a new third-star commander into the role currently occupied by Vice Adm. McLane.
- Air Mobility Command personnel and planners: AMC members will see the Tulley nomination against the backdrop of the rank adjustment announced after Gen. Lamontagne’s departure and while Lt. Gen. Rebecca Sonkiss continues in day-to-day command.
- Congressional lawmakers: The announcement says the nominations were communicated to lawmakers last week, making the Senate the body that will ultimately consider whether to confirm Cahill and Tulley and authorize the promotions and assignments described.
The Pentagon’s release packaged these two nominations alongside other flag officer moves — including the communication of Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess as a nominee to be the third-ever leader of the Space Force — signaling a cluster of personnel decisions the Senate must now adjudicate. For both Cahill and Tulley, the immediate next step named in the Department’s announcement is Senate confirmation; its outcome will determine who leads the Navy’s surface warfare enterprise and who commands Air Mobility Command in its newly configured rank structure.
