U.S. Special Operations Command Central Command, known as SOCCENT, is getting a new commander.
Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, deputy director for special operations, J-37, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., has been named to replace Maj. Gen. Ken Tovo, who has been commander since Sept., 2011.
The command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, oversees special operations missions in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
You can read more about Tovo here.
And this is more about Nagata, from his official bio:
He and his wife Barbara have five children.
Commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1982, he served with the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry in South Korea until 1983. In 1984, he joined Army Special Forces, and served in 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) until 1987.
After attending the Infantry Officers Advance Course, he again served with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Okinawa, Japan. In 1990, he joined a Special Mission Unit where he served as a Troop Commander until 1994.
After attending the U.S. Marine Corps Command and General Staff College, he returned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Ft. Lewis where he served as the 3rd Battalion Executive Officer and the Group Operations Officer until 1997. He then served in a Special Mission Unit as an Operations Officer until assuming command of 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group at Ft. Bragg in 1999, where he was responsible for the Special Forces Qualification Course. From 2000 to 2002, he served as a Squadron Commander in a Special Mission Unit.
After graduating from the National War College, he served in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence until 2005. He then assumed command of a Special Mission Unit, and served there until 2008.
He then served within the Intelligence Community as a Deputy Director for CounterTerrorism until 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he deployed to Islamabad, Pakistan where he served as the Deputy Chief, Office of the Defense Representative to Pakistan (ODRP).
MG Nagata has deployed extensively throughout his career, participating in contingency and combat operations in such varied locales as Somalia, the Balkans, Iraq, and elsewhere.